A Spanish court has ordered the detention of a man from Ivory Coast who tried to smuggle his 8-year-old son into the country in a suitcase.
A police statement said guards on April 7, stopped a 19-year-old Moroccan woman who was waiting in line at the land border crossing in Ceuta, a Spanish city enclave in North Africa. According to the statement the woman looked nervous, which prompted the guards to check her suitcase. Upon scanning the bag, the guards found a boy curled up inside.
The border officials detained the woman and, later, the child’s father at the same border crossing. The woman is married to the father, and both have residency rights in Spain. The son however, does not, says the court. On May 8, A Ceuta magistrate ordered the father to be held on charges of human rights abuse.