Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire US: Border tunnel appears to be ‘most sophisticated’

https://apnews.com/e759e3542d183822decd8979d341a814

PHOENIX (AP) — An incomplete tunnel found stretching from Mexico to Arizona appears to be “the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history,” authorities said.

The tunnel intended for smuggling ran from a neighborhood in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, to San Luis, Arizona, where it stopped short of reaching the surface. It was built in an area that’s not conducive to tunnels because of the terrain, and it had a ventilation system, water lines, electrical wiring, a rail system and extensive reinforcement, federal officials say.

“What makes this one unique is that the terrain in Yuma is very hard... the sand is very loose, and most of them end up caving. So the fact that the material was very well built and it had ventilation, it had water, it had a rail system with walls, roof, floor, electrical, makes this one a very unique type of tunnel,” said Angel Ortiz, assistant special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Yuma. HSI is a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This appears to be the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history, and certainly the most sophisticated I’ve seen in my career,” said Carl E. Landrum, acting chief patrol agent with the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector.

Homeland Security Investigations started excavating around the tunnel in late July after someone reported a sinkhole near the border wall. HSI already had reports of potential tunnel activity in that area already, and the agency began drilling, Ortiz said. A camera was sent 25 feet (7.6 meters) underground, and the tunnel was discovered on Tuesday.

The tunnel measured 3 feet (about 1 meter) wide and 4 feet (1.2 meters) high.

Investigators don’t know what exactly the tunnel would have been used for, since it was incomplete. They also don’t know how long it had been there, because they don’t know what kind of equipment was used to build it. If it was done by hand, it would be many months of construction to get as far as it did, Ortiz said. But if the builders used heavy machinery it would “potentially a few months, not that long of a period,” Ortiz said.

Smugglers have been using tunnels to get drugs and people across the border for decades.

Two years ago, authorities in Yuma discovered a sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel that went from a home in Mexico to an abandoned fast-food restaurant in Arizona.

HSI said the tunnel ran from Mexico to an old Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that’s not in operation in San Luis, Arizona, just about 200 yards (180 meters) north of the border.

The owner, Ivan Lopez, was arrested on Aug. 13, 2018, after authorities found several packages of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in the back of his truck.

That arrest led to a search at his home and the old restaurant, where agents found a hidden tunnel that was large enough for people to freely walk through.

Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of using a tunnel or passage to smuggle controlled substances, and was sentenced to seven years in prison, according to court records.

HSI continues to investigate the tunnel found Tuesday.

My claustrophoby is kicking in just imagining that.

I would not like a tunnel!

I thought the tunnel coming up inside a fast food restaurant was interesting. How the hell do you navigate underground? The article above said the newly discovered tunnel was 25' deep, (No peeking up from that depth.)

I'd always assumed tunnels were for people moving, but this article made me realize that they're strictly for moving drugs.

Found it before it was finished.

More winning.

Saw that on Fox news tonight. Quite the undertaking. Made me think of my predictions when they started building the southern border wall. I predicted an increase in tunnel building. Of course I'm not clairvoyant..... But the instant they build a wall you know the smugglers and such be looking for ways around it, or under it, or over it.

flush out the varmints

Park a tanker full of gasoline over the hole, open the dump valves, wait a few minutes and then toss in a lit fusee. The other end of the tunnel won't be hard to find!

The government doesn't want to catch them there's to much money involved. If the government wanted to stop tunnels they'd hire the guy's that do seismic surveys for oil.

This was my thought as well. ^^^^^^^^ There is technology available to locate such anomalies. IF they really want to...

The VC would be jealous

No, the VC would laugh their asses off at such a wormhole. The VC dug underground caverns large enough to hold hospitals and entire military barracks.

Why only drugs?

With a rail system, people can sit or probably lay down and roll through the tunnel. Think or watch "The Great Escape".

Just wait for Amazon to get bigger delivery drones. Special delivery!

P.S. I'm not really sure if that scenario will ever be able to happen.

You'd think they'd be smart enough to start and end at places where lots of traffic wouldn't be noticed - like warehouses, not homes.

They don't want or need "lots of traffic".

They are moving drugs or money.
1 small SUV could haul millions.


That said, any activity in a closed KFC would be noticed.
Or, covered up by an owner that keeps the place up.

why would you close a kfc that's suspicious

You can buy professional quality drones today that will haul 400 lb over a 15 mile range. That could operate anywhere along the border, making multiple trips a day. All they need is someone on the receiving end to radio them with their GPS coordinates.

Bait to make all the Kens and Karens think they're actually fighting the "War on Drugs".

Bulshit.

With a strong Border Wall, our stretched out Border Patrol can spend more assets looking for things like this rather than chasing idiots through the desert.