NOGALES, AZ (KOLD) - The latest drug tunnel discovered in Nogales is adding fuel to the claim that Nogales is becoming the drug tunnel capital of the United States.
Wednesday's tunnel was detected when a Nogales landlord visited his property looking for his tenants.
"A homeowner had not been paid rent for a home they were renting out," says Special Agent Eric Feldman, Department of Homeland Security Investigations. "Upon inspecting the property, they discovered a two by two, two foot by two foot opening that appeared to be a tunnel."
Ten feet down and about thirty feet into Nogales, Sonora Mexico.
It appears the goal was to connect the tunnel with the underground drainage system that runs from Mexico into the United States.
But these smugglers never got the chance, thanks to a concerned landlord who called the police.
"In this case it was an incomplete tunnel, something we were able to identify early on," says Agent Feldman. "And we'll be able to work with Nogales Public Works Department to remediate it and take it out of circulation."
Filling tunnels with concrete is something crews in Nogales have been doing a lot lately.
Through April of this year, 8 tunnels have been identified in Nogales, with as many as three more since.
Only seven were discovered last year.
Though a record 20 tunnels were found in Nogales in 2009. So what does it all mean?
That smugglers are becoming increasingly desperate for a variety of reasons.
Maybe it's because there's more boots on the ground, better technology and fewer routes to move their products.
Whatever it is, law enforcement seems to have an answer to whatever's sent their way.
The Border Patrol even has a remote-controlled robot that goes into these dark tunnels and checks things out--so agents themselves don't have to.
For years, Tijuana was informally considered the Mecca for underground smuggling operations. But over the last four years, approximately 60 drug tunnels have been identified in Nogales, Arizona--making Nogales the unofficial drug tunnel capital of the United States.
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