This has got to stop!

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers said they arrested a man for allegedly trying to smuggle a woman into the country by hiding her inside a car's engine compartment.

Officials said the discovery was made last Friday afternoon during a routine border security inspection at the downtown Calexico port of entry.


SLIDESHOW: Images From Border

Customs officers said the driver, a 27-year-old resident of Mexicali, was stopped driving a beige, 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis.

Upon questioning, officers said the man appeared nervous. He was referred to undergo a secondary inspection. That's when CBP officers said they discovered what appeared to be a piece of wood under the front bumper.


Officers removed the grill and said they found a Chinese woman lying in a non-factory compartment of the engine. She was freed and transported to a local medical facility.

The driver was charged with alien smuggling and transported to the Imperial County Jail. The woman is now being held by CBP as a material witness for the prosecution.

Officials said this is the second failed attempt in a week of someone allegedly trying to smuggle Chinese migrants inside an engine compartment.

Last Thursday, CBP officers at the downtown port discovered two Chinese men hidden within the engine of a Chevrolet pickup truck. The driver, a 28-year-old Mexican male from Brawley, was arrested.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/11075299/detail.html