Mexican officials discover smuggling tunnel in Nogales

By Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star
January 3, 2011 12:53 pm

Mexican officials have discovered a tunnel beneath the international border in Nogales and U.S. officials are trying to determine if the underground passage comes out in Arizona.

Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Border Patrol were made aware of the discovery by their Mexican counterparts, said ICE spokesman Vincent Picard. Currently, they are working with Mexican officials to find where the tunnel comes out in Arizona, he said.

El Imparcial newsaper is reporting that the Mexican military is conducting a major operation along Calle Internacional in downtown Nogales, Sonora, presumably because of the discovery of a drug-smuggling tunnel.

The discovery of smuggling tunnels have become common in recent years in Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora, because there are two major storm drainage passageways that run beneath the two cities that smugglers link their tunnels to.

Stay tuned to Starnet for more updates.

Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/ ... 002e0.html