Escape attempt foiled after inmate at Mexican jail caught hiding in wife's suitcase

Juan Ramirez Tijerina is curled inside a suitcase after he tried to escape from prison with the help of his girlfriend following a conjugal visit in Chetumal, Mexico.

An inmate who tried to hide in a suitcase to escape jail was sent packing back to his cell, Mexican authorities said.

The man, aided by his 19-year-old common law wife, was busted as she tried to wheel him out of a prison in Chetumal in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, police said.

Juan Ramirez Tijerina's bungled prison break followed his conjugal visit with Maria del Mar Arjona. Tijerina is serving a 20-year stretch for illegal weapons possession stemming from a conviction in 2007.

Police said Arjona looked nervous as she struggled to pull the suitcase, which also looked to be unusually heavy. When officers stopped her and opened the case, they found Tijerina curled up in the fetal position.

Arjona now faces prison time for her role in the attempted escape, authorities said.