Spanish authorities said a Moroccan father was caught smuggling his 8 year-old daughter into Spain by hiding her in a suitcase.
Nevertheless, the father has been told his daughter can stay in the country.
According to the Daily Mail new outlet, the “Customs officials found eight-year-old Haniya Kanaan curled up inside a small suitcase after her single father Ayham, 38, entered Spain on a legal work permit through the Andalusian port of Tarifa”.
The source added that “although Kanaan faces a fine for trying to smuggle his daughter into the country in the hope of giving her a better life, a judge has ruled that she can live with her father for as long as he works in Spain, adding that she will also be allowed to enrol at a local school”.
After being discovered curled up inside the suitcase, the little girl, who appeared to be in good health, was taken to a hospital.
La Guardia civil said ‘the father is a single dad who had a work permit for Spain, but he didn’t want to leave his child behind and didn’t know how to get his daughter into the country, so decided to smuggle her in.
‘In the end, however, after a speedy process, an emergency judge decided that actually the girl was entitled to join her father and the pair were allowed to continue on their way,’ he added.
‘This time, of course, with the girl legally allowed into the country,’ he said.
The Moroccan times
