NOGALES, Ariz. – The discovery of a tunnel along a sewer line running across the U.S. Mexico border resulted in the seizure of nearly 200 lbs. of methamphetamine, almost two pounds of white heroin, close to three pounds of cocaine, over six and a half pounds of fentanyl. Two smugglers were arrested and a vehicle was seized as well.
Jovany Robledo-Delgado and Jesus Martinez Selgado, both citizens of Mexico, were handed over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Tucson on charges of possession and conspiracy to distribute hard narcotics.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents and taskforce officers on the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) executed the federal search warrant late Tuesday night on a residence that resulted in the discovery.
According to HSI, the tunnel that runs from the residence on North Morley to the International Outfall Interceptor (IOI), an 8.8-mile pipeline that carries more than 10 million gallons of sewage each day from the border to a treatment plant in Rio Rico, measures eight feet deep and stretches 82 feet (entry to breach of the IOI).
The tunnel has a reinforced passageway that features a sophisticated ventilation system equipped with tubing reinforced by several 2 x 4’s and beams allowing for crawlspace. Special agents estimate the tunnel has been in existence for a few months due to the advanced construction and material used to excavate.
“It comes at no surprise that HSI special agents on the BEST and those on the Joint Port Enforcement Group (JPEG) dismantled an operational drug tunnel along the border,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI Phoenix in a press release. “As this investigation makes clear, we remain focused on exposing border crime and combatting the cartels’ increasingly unabashed underground smuggling tactics.”
The investigation began earlier this year when investigators received information that a drug trafficking organization was smuggling large quantities of narcotics through the IOI, according to HSI. As the investigation progressed, HSI special agents obtained evidence to present to a federal judge for a search warrant. That evening, while executing the search warrant, agents uncovered the receiving end of the tunnel.