Mexico City, Jul 8 (AP) Mexican officials have pulled 51 migrants, including 21 children, off a tightly packed cargo truck in north-central Mexico.

The Public Security Ministry said Sunday that the migrants from Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua were detected with assistance from an X-ray machine in the state of Zacatecas. The ministry says the migrants will be returned to their countries of origin.

Authorities say the inspection also yielded 225,000 pesos, or about USD 11,842, in cash. The driver has been detained for questioning.

Mexico has stepped up inspections along routes heavily transited by migrants in an effort to reduce the number of people that reach the U.S. border. AP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)