Wife Arrested After Trying to Smuggle Husband out of Jail in Suitcase

The woman had been allowed to visit her husband for a conjugal visit.

Juan Ramirez Tijerina found hiding in suitcase

(Courtesy SIPSE.com via CNN / July 5, 2011)
KTLA News

9:05 a.m. PDT, July 5, 2011
CHETUMAL, Mexico (KTLA) -- A woman has been arrested after police say she tried to smuggle her husband out of jail in a suitcase.

The woman, who is the man's common law wife, had been allowed to visit the man for a conjugal visit, police in Mexico say.

Prison guards noticed something was wrong when she appeared to be nervous and was pushing a suitcase that was "overstuffed."

Chetumal prison spokesman Gerardo Campos said guards checked the bag and found the inmate, identified as Juan Ramirez-Tijerina, inside the bag curled up in a fetal position.

19-year-old Maria del Mar Arjona was arrested and may face prison time herself, police say.

Ramirez is serving a 20-year sentence for a 2007 conviction for illegal weapons possession.