48 YEAR-OLD WOMAN ZIPPED UP INSIDE A SUITCASE INTO THE U.S

Phoenix man, 56, tries to smuggle Thai woman inside of a suitcase into the US from Mexico

• US Customs and Border protection found 48-year-old Thai national zipped up inside a suitcase hidden on the back seat of a Honda SUV
• The 56-year-old driver was trying to get back into the US from Mexico at the Port of Nogales border crossing in Arizona
• Both are in custody

A 56-year-old Pheonix man has been arrested after authorities found a Thai woman stuffed inside his suitcase as part of a border smuggling attempt.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said on Monday that officers stopped the man to inspect his Honda SUV at the Port of Nogales, the major Point of Entry in Arizona at the Mexico and United States border.

Customs and Border Patrol spokeswoman Edith Serrano said officers removed a suitcase in the back of the vehicle

This photo, released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shows a woman trying to hide inside a suitcase in a smuggling attempt at the U.S.-Mexico border. The 48-year-old Thai national was in a car driven by a 56-year-old Pheonix man. Both are in custody

Zipped up inside they found a 48-year-old Thai national.

She had attempted to hide underneath a pile of clothes.

Serrano said the man was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement who is now handling the case.

The woman was also taken into custody.

Border patrol agents also stopped smugglers this past week from moving ammunition and drugs across the border, Serrano said.

The smuggling attempt occurred here, at the Port of Nogales, one of the main border crossings into the US from Mexico in Arizona