Incomplete Smuggler’s Tunnel Found Under Arizona Border

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents teamed up with law enforcement officials in Mexico to uncover an incomplete tunnel near the Port of Nogales DeConcini Crossing. Authorities said smugglers designed the tunnel to move drugs under the border and into Arizona.

Agents in Nogales, Arizona, found the entry point of the tunnel submerged underwater along the international waterway that separates the Mexican and Arizona cities of Nogales, according to information obtained from Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials.

The tunnel reportedly extends 44 feet into Arizona and stops abruptly under a parking lot. Officials said the tunnel is about 50 feet long and measures 2 feet by 2 feet in height and width. Inside, officials found shoring and excavation tools. They believe smugglers were still in the process of building the incomplete tunnel.

Agents will monitor the tunnel until it can be secured by filling it in with concrete, officials stated.

In September, Mexican officials in Baja California found another tunnel leading to the border with California. It appears smugglers operated the tunnel for at least two years, Breitbart Border/Cartel Chronicles journalist Robert Arce reported. The Mexican military and the Baja California Norte Preventive Police found the tunnel after receiving an anonymous report about its existence.

The tunnel, which originated in a residential structure in Mexico, crossed the border from Ejido Jacume in Mexico to Jacumba Hot Springs in California. Investigators found a rifle and a handgun inside the tunnel.

This, at the time, was the fifth tunnel found in the region under the administration of Governor Francisco Arturo Vega de Lamadrid.

Arce reported on other similar tunnels found in the region:

Breitbart Texas reported on several incidents in the northern border region of Baja California and the United States. Police discovered a major drug lab on August 25, resulting in the seizure of four tons of methamphetamine. A fentanyl drug lab was also recently found in nearby Mexicali, where 20,000 tablets were seized along with precursor chemicals. In April 2018, a sophisticated tunnel measuring approximately 740 yards from Mexicali to Calexico, California, was discovered by the Mexican Army and Federal Police.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.