KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2024 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Underground bunker discovered in Waddell had guns and drugs, MSCO says

Detectives with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office serving a search warrant this week on a West Valley business found a large underground bunker that contained guns and drugs, authorities said Friday.

Detectives were serving the warrant at the Hole in One RV, Boat & Toy Storage near Waddell, an unincorporated community in northwest Maricopa County. The warrant was as part of a more than year-long investigation into power being stolen from a nearby Arizona Public Service box.

The Sheriff's Office says the bunker is a three-level facility built out of cargo and semitruck boxes, featuring elevators and tunnels. They say they seized 36 firearms from inside the bunker, along with drugs and nearly $1 million worth of gold, silver and cash, among other items.

Authorities arrested the property owners, Laura Swink, 61, and her son, Steven Swink II, 35, on suspicion of felony theft of service charges, criminal damage and obtaining utilities fraudulently.

 

Ignacio Ventura is a reporter for KJZZ. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in news media and society.