Woman Busted By Airport Security After X-ray Scanner Reveals Smuggled Baby in a Bag.

A woman traveling from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea was caught as she tried to smuggle her two-month-old baby boy by placing him in her backpack.

On Monday night, 26-year-old Jenifer Pavolaurea, a citizen of Papua New Guinea, arrived late for her 8:45 PM flight. She came rushing to the X-ray counter in the departure area and had her bag scanned. The airport staff who was manning the X-ray machines at that time detected a “live moving object” in her bag. They took the backpack, rescued the baby hidden inside, and called the attention of the immigration supervisor on duty.

A two-month-old baby was detected in a backpack.

Pavolaurea presented documents pertaining to the infant’s birth. However, she was not able to present his travel documents and his exit clearance. As such, the Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration prevented Pavalaurea from departing the country. She was released by the airport police and was instructed to process the appropriate immigration documents for her baby.

Pavolaurea, a single-mother, attempted to smuggle her baby.

A similar incident occurred in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates in 2012, where an Egyptian couple was caught as they tried to smuggle their five-month-old baby into the country by hiding him inside their luggage.

An Egyptian couple was held at the Sharjah International Airport in 2012 after attempting to smuggle their baby.

The infant’s outline was detected as the luggage passed through the X-ray machine. According to a police official, the customs officials were stunned when they realized that there was a baby in the bag.

The couple was arrested for endangering the infant’s life. X-ray machines emit ionizing radiation that may be dangerous for people, particularly children and infants.

The outline of the infant’s body was detected as the luggage was scanned via an X-ray machine.

Upon interrogation, the couple admitted that they decided to place the infant inside the bag because they wanted him to live with them in UAE, but he neither had a passport nor a visa. Apparently, the Egyptian couple had been living illegally in UAE before. They left because the woman got pregnant and she wanted to deliver her baby in Egypt. Evidently, they came back months after with the infant.

The couple was arrested for endangering the infant’s life.

How the infant was able to pass through the immigration in Egypt and board the plane for departure without a passport and a visa remains unclear.

H/T: PhilStar and Daily Mail