2ND DRUG TUNNEL FOUND IN BORDER TOWN

TUCSON, Ariz. - Federal agents have discovered a second tunnel that was
apparently used to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border. A 25-foot dirt
tunnel running from a sewer system to a house in Nogales, Ariz., was
discovered by agents Monday. Associated Press The 30-foot tunnel
discovered Wednesday leads from a sewer system to a carwash in Nogales,
Ariz., about a half-mile from the border.

Another tunnel had been found Monday leading from a sewer to a home in the
same town. Agents found the second tunnel while serving warrants in a drug
investigation unrelated to the discovery of the first tunnel, said Jim
Molesa, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman. The tunnel took the
form of a 16-inch-wide pipe through which drugs were pushed, authorities
said. Agents searching the pipe found about 350 pounds of marijuana, with a
street value of about $300,000. Four people were arrested, but no names or
charges were immediately released because the warrants and indictments were
sealed. In all, authorities have found seven tunnels in Nogales since 1995.
The discoveries highlight the scope of the drug-trafficking problem, Molesa
said. "They're out there, and we're looking for them," he said. "There's so
many out there you can stumble on them."

Agents from the DEA, the U.S. Customs Service and the Santa Cruz County
Metro Task Force had been investigating a drug operation for five months
when they uncovered the second tunnel.

Molesa said drugs were brought from Mexico to the tunnel in Nogales through
an underground sewage line. About 30 feet from the Los Amigos Car Wash,
they were fed through the pipe. The pipe was too small to crawl through,
unlike the 25-foot-long tunnel discovered Monday.

Molesa said the people trafficking drugs at the carwash "are basically
independent entrepreneurs working for a variety of cartels." He said the
drugs originated in Colombia and crossed through Mexico on their way to the
United States.