Courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementNOGALES, AZ (CBS5) -
An active drug smuggling tunnel was located and shut down in Nogales on Tuesday following a multi-agency investigation.
The U.S. entrance to the tunnel was concealed beneath the front porch of a home located about one-half mile west of the DeConcini Port of Entry. The tunnel runs south into Mexico, coming up inside a drainage tunnel that parallels the U.S./Mexico border on International Street.
The tunnel is about 70 feet long, three feet wide and two feet tall, and extends 25 feet into Mexico. The depth of the passageway ranges from four to 22 feet. The tunnel's entrances on both sides of the border have been secured by U.S. and Mexican authorities while the investigation continues.
Investigators said they recovered numerous excavation tools.
The probe was spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
HSI is working closely on the investigation with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Nogales Police Department, and Mexico's Secretaria de Seguridad de Publica (SSP).
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