U.S. and Mexican authorities found an incomplete tunnel running underneath the streets of Nogales this week. Tunnels are a common problem in the area.
U.S. Border Patrol agents and Mexican federal police found the tunnel during a routine inspection of a storm water drainage system in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, that serves both cities.
According to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the tunnel was located 10 feet underground and extended 20 feet into the United States. The entrance was concealed in the floor of an existing drainage system by a pile of dirt covered with a Styrofoam-and-concrete mixture.
Border Patrol has found 124 cross-border smuggling tunnels in the Tucson Sector since 1990 — mostly in the Nogales area. This is at least the fourth tunnel discovered this year.
CBP said in the release that both U.S. and Mexican authorities will continue monitoring the tunnel until it can be secured with concrete filler.
