Philippine Baby Suitcase

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

An American woman was detained at Manila International Airport after authorities found a very young baby in her purse.

The events occurred around 6:20 am on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino airport, as confirmed by Melvin Mabulac, spokesman for the Philippine Office of Migration. The woman was caught by security cameras at the air terminal through customs and security controls where time and again he circumvented the minor's paper control. It was only shortly before boarding an aircraft bound for the United States that the suspect was intercepted by authorities with the boy hidden in the swing-type bag.

According to official reports, the white woman was unable to present the minor's immigration papers and that the features of a Filipino boy were said to be present. The woman did not even have the baby's passport when asked for it, as confirmed by CNN.

The detainee appeared somewhat nervous in the security videos and when she was questioned by reporters from the aforementioned chain, she did not want to say a word "until her lawyer arrived."

"I didn't have any travel documents for the baby," the spokesperson explained at a press conference. "If the passenger does not have any document to support [their case] there is a violation," he said. “The lawyers I think have told me that it is something that qualifies as human trafficking. It is a violation.”

According to the same source, the case has been handed over to the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation.

This episode recalls other human trafficking incidents, such as one that occurred in late July in the municipality of Guadalupe, in Monterrey, Mexico, where a woman dressed as a nurse was caught on video taking a suitcase where she apparently hid a newborn child to steal it.

The Mexican authorities offered a sign to search for the minor, also issuing an amber alert in efforts to locate him.