Boy in the box: Father caught smuggling son, 6, across Saudi border in cardboard container stashed in his car boot

• The man resorted to the ruse because he did not have legal documents to travel abroad with the child

A father has been caught trying to smuggle his six-year-old son out of Saudi Arabia hidden in a tiny cardboard box - so he could be reunited with his mother.
Custom officials discovered the cramped child during a search of the man's car at a checkpoint on the border with neighbouring Jordan.
The young boy was squeezed into the boot of his father's convertible Mercedes Benz - packed among bags and other luggage.

Bewildered: The six-year-old boy was discovered packed in among luggage in his father's car boot during a check at Halat Ammar border checkpoint

The man, a Saudi resident, told border officers that the boy’s mother had been deported to Indonesia after living illegally in the Kingdom.
And because of his parents' legal limbo, they had not obtained any documents for their son in order to follow her abroad.

He said he had embarked on the plan because he could not find another way to take the child out of his country.
The child looked sheepish as he emerged from his hiding place after his father's ruse was found out.
Fahad al-Harbi, director general of customs at the Halat Ammar border crossing, said the father had no legal documents for the boy that he was trying to spirit into Jordan.
Mr Al-Harbi told Saudi Gazette: 'The six-year-old boy was hidden in a carton in his father’s Mercedes Benz convertible among suitcases.
'The boy’s Indonesian mother was earlier deported to her country by the Passports Department for not holding a valid residence permit (Iqama).'
The father was referred to authorities for appropriate action, Mr Al-Harbi said.