AGENTS DISCOVER DRUG-SMUGGLE TUNNEL

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Federal agents discovered a 25-foot dirt tunnel that
was apparently being used to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border, and
seized 840 pounds of cocaine from the Arizona house at one end of the passage.

The crude, hand-dug tunnel - fitted with a string of bare electric bulbs -
runs from the Nogales house to the sewer system, which leads in turn to a
dry streambed along the Mexican border called the Nogales Wash.

``The drugs probably were smuggled from Mexico through the wash, into the
sewer pipe, then into the tunnel and into the house,'' U.S. Customs
spokesman Roger Maier said.

The tunnel, discovered Monday, was connected to the sewer by a hinged metal
hatch.

No immediate arrests were made.

``At this point, we have no idea how long it was there, but it appears from
the evidence that it had been utilized for some time,'' Maier said.

The discovery came as agents were investigating possible smuggling at the
home, which is about three-quarters of a mile north of the Mexican border.
Agents found no one at home but noticed dirt between a window blind and window.

Customs agents searched the home and discovered 198 cocaine bricks valued
at $6.5 million wholesale.

The tunnel had lights but no ventilation, Maier said.

The tunnel was the sixth discovered in Nogales. The first was found in
1995, running from a point near the wash to an abandoned Methodist church.
Three more tunnels were discovered in 1999 and one last year, all coming
off sewer pipes branching off from the Nogales Wash.

The Nogales Wash is frequently is used by drug smugglers and illegal immigrants.