11 illegal Chinese migrants busted hiding in washing machine, furniture

11 Chinese migrants who were being smuggled into the U.S. were found hidden inside furniture and home appliances.

America’s Custom and Border Protection said they were found inside a washing machine, a chest of drawers and a dresser.

”Border agents searched a moving truck at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California, on Saturday when they found 11 Chinese migrants hiding inside various pieces of furniture,” CNN said.

The immigrants were arrested alongside the truck driver, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen but his identity and expected charges are yet to be revealed.

In October this year, 39 dead bodies of Chinese nationals were found inside a refrigerated truck in London, United Kingdom.

A month later, another six Chinese migrants were found inside another truck hidden behind a false wall.

China is the second largest economy in the world with an economic transformation that has elevated many of its citizens from poverty status.

Despite this, it ranks fourth among countries with the most citizens living abroad.

”The opportunities within a country as large as China are not equally distributed,” said Natalia Banulescu-Bodgan from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI).

Reports indicate that a majority still live in squalor despite the high level of economic growth in the last few years.

MPI also attributes the migration from China to political repression and the policy that restricts each couple to having only one child.