MANILA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Philippine immigration officials held an American woman on Wednesday for trying to smuggle out a six-day-old male baby inside her "oversized" carry-on luggage at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Melvin Mabulac, the deputy spokesperson of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI), said the 43-year-old American Jennifer Talbot was about to board a flight to the United States when she was caught around 6:20 a.m. local time on Wednesday by airport officers during security checks.
"The infant was hidden in the oversized belt bag and (she) did not declare nor present to the immigration inspector during departure formalities," the BI said in a statement.
According to Mabulac, the woman claimed she was the child's aunt, but she had no documents to prove this, not even a passport.
Mabulac further said the woman was turned over to the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation to determine if she is involved in human trafficking.
BI Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina told local radio in an interview that the infant is safe and is currently in the care of the country's Social Welfare Department.
