Elaborate Tunnel Found on US Border
Underground Passageway Has Electricity,
Hose for Ventilation
(June 12) — Authorities have found a massive
underground drug smuggling tunnel
snaking through the U.S.-Mexican border,
and law officers are marveling over its sophistication.
“This is one of the most elaborate tunnels
I’ve seen,” Border Patrol agent Michael Scioli
said.
Border Patrol agents found the uncompleted
tunnel last week, the patrol said in a
statement.
Measuring 48 feet in the United States and
35 feet in Mexico, the tunnel contains side
walls framed with 2-by-4 wooden studs and
ceiling construction.
“It’s elegant in the sense it has electrical
work wired into the Mexico side. It even has
a hose for ventilation and lightning,” Scioli
said.
The development points to successes law
officers are having in uncovering the tunnels,
with an additional 16 tunnels found
since October 1. But it also underscores the
skills and savvy of the drug smuggling industry.
A resident tipped off the patrol about construction
activity through the wall of a
building in Nogales, Arizona. Agents arrested
two people cutting a hole.
If people would work that hard legitimately, they would make decent money.