Baby in baggage; parents arrested

An Arab couple who tried to smuggle their five-month-old child into the country by hiding him in their luggage were arrested at the Sharjah airport on Sunday.

The parents put the boy in their hand-baggage and tried to run it through the scanning machine, but were arrested in the nick of time. They have been charged with putting the boy’s life at risk and for attempting to smuggle him into the country as he had no visa.

Sharjah Police officials said the couple arrived from an Arab country two days ago on Friday, a holiday, and since the child did not have an entry visa stamped on his passport, they were advised to wait until Sunday when the immigration office at the airport opens. But the impatient parents waited for the shift to change on Saturday morning at 10, and the father allegedly convinced the mother to join a queue at the immigration counter and place the child in the luggage, only to be spotted by an alert officer.

The police arrested the parents and saved the child from being exposed to the dangers of radiation. The couple were charged with endangering the life of the child and infiltration.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com