Smuggler drops toddler over 18-foot border wall into dad’s arms in California, video shows

A 2-year-old was dropped over a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border in California into his father’s arms, according to officials.

Surveillance footage captured a smuggler dropping the toddler over an 18-foot border wall in Imperial Beach just after midnight on Sunday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.

Border patrol agents said they used remote video surveillance to spot a group of people climbing the wall and saw a child being dropped to another person below, who appeared to be standing on an elevated structure. The group was arrested after agents arrived on the scene, officials said.

“You can basically see the smugglers suspending him and ultimately dropping him to his father down below,” said Border Patrol Agent Jacob MacIsaac, according to CBS8.

Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke of the San Diego Sector posted the video on Twitter on Wednesday.

“This event could have been catastrophic. Luckily, the child was not injured,” Heitke said.

The father and toddler are citizens of Ghana, officials said.

This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Smuggler drops toddler over 18-foot border wall into dad’s arms in California, video shows."