A desperate Moroccan father, Ayham Kanaan, has been arrested
by Spanish custom officers after he was allegedly found hiding his
8-year-old daughter, Haniya Kanaan, in a suitcase.
According
to police reports, Ayham, 38, was caught trying to smuggle his daughter
into Spain so that she can stay in the country.
It was
gathered that Customs officials found Haniya curled up inside a small
suitcase after her single father entered Spain on a legal work permit
through the Andalusian port of Tarifa.
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,
The judge also added that she will also be allowed to enrol at a local school.
Reports
said that Customs officers were shocked to find the little girl hidden
inside a suitcase while searching her father's car following his return
to Spain after a family visit to Morocco.
Haniya was discovered inside a purple suitcase on the back seat of the vehicle.
The
eight-year-old was taken to hospital after being released from the
luggage, with doctors saying she was lucky to be alive following the
dangerous stunt.
They said she could easily have been left with
brain damage after being shut in the suitcase, and had already started
showing physical signs of a lack of oxygen.
The report stated that had there been delays at the border crossing, it is possible she may even have died.
Kanaan
has reportedly been told he faces a fine for trying to smuggle his
daughter into Spain illegally, but that there are unlikely to be any
other punishments.
Tarifa is on the coast of southern Spain and has regular ferry services to and from North Africa.
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