Tucson Region

Tunnels found in Nogales tied to smuggling

Mexican and U.S. officials are investigating the discovery of two smuggling tunnels found late Wednesday in Nogales, Sonora. Local police were searching an area on the western end of the city after a series of reports of suspicious activity when they tried to chase people into storm drains. When they didn't find anybody in the drain, police assumed they had used a tunnel. Further investigation in the area yielded two tunnel openings and the Mexican police contacted authorities in the United States, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said Friday. Authorities couldn't determine where or if the tunnels exited on the U.S. side and believe the tunnels are either incomplete or sealed on the Mexican side. However, the matter is still under investigation and U.S. authorities are still looking for active tunnels in the area. Authorities believe the tunnels were intended as people-smuggling routes. Estrada said smugglers have tapped into storm drains along the Mexican side of the border, which opens a lot of possibilities for tunnels. While it's not unusual to find makeshift tunnels on the Mexican side, they don't always lead all the way across the border, Estrada said. Mexican police will turn their investigation over to federal officials, who generally contact U.S. counterparts with their findings, he said.