PROBE FINDS TUNNELS NEAR BORDER

Arizona: Discovery Of Two Passageways In Nogales Underscores Growing
Ingenuity Of Drug Smugglers, Officials Say

DENVER--A drug surveillance operation in Nogales, Ariz., has uncovered two
extensive tunnels that authorities suspect were intended to smuggle drugs
across the border from Mexico.

The tunnels were found Tuesday and fully explored Thursday. One tunnel led
to a storm drain that officials said is a regular pathway for drugs and
illegal immigrants to enter the country. Another more elaborate tunnel led
searchers to the basement of a nearby Roman Catholic Church.

According to officials, a Santa Cruz County drug task force had been
watching a home in downtown Nogales on Tuesday and, acting on an
informant's tip, asked the occupants if they could enter.

They were given permission and discovered the trap door to the first tunnel
under the living room carpet. The officers left and returned with a search
warrant that triggered a three-day, multi-agency search.

Authorities say the discovery of the tunnel network underscores the
increasing ingenuity of drug smugglers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Awilda
Villafana, special agent in charge for the U.S. Customs Service, said the
tunnels are a trail that officials hope may lead to highly organized
smugglers. According to the Customs Service, drug seizures in Arizona last
year were at record levels.

So far, no drugs have been found and no arrests have been made in Nogales.

The first tunnel was probed by an electronic robot supplied by the Arizona
Department of Public Service. Debris hindered the robot's progress and a
search and rescue team from Maricopa County was brought in.

The team followed the tunnel 250 feet to a point where it joined the
Nogales Wash, a covered concrete pipeline that leads to Nogales, Mexico.
Officials said a swamp cooler was rigged to provide ventilation into the
otherwise crudely built passageway.

The second tunnel was discovered in a structure directly behind the house.
The search and rescue team worked underground for 15 hours Thursday and
determined that it extended 400 feet south. Searchers said the tunnel was
reinforced with some concrete and wood shoring. A red wagon was found in
the tunnel and apparently had been used to ferry construction implements,
officials said.

Slowly crawling and pulling lights, the team eventually came to a dead end
that led upward about 60 feet to a metal trapdoor. The door was sealed.
Exhausted and fearing a cave-in, the team pulled out.

Late Thursday afternoon a team from the Nogales Fire Department took over.
The team members suggested forcing smoke into the tunnel and around the
metal door to determine where the exit led. In the early evening,
authorities discovered smoke seeping into the basement of Sacred Heart
Church, the largest church in town.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said two adults and two children
lived in the house and were being questioned.

At least two other drug smuggling tunnels have been discovered in Arizona.
In 1990, a highly sophisticated tunnel was found in Douglas and another one
was located in Nogales in 1995.

"Smugglers will always look for the path of least resistance," said Roger
Maier, a spokesman for the Customs Service. "If they can go underground
rather than face a uniformed officer, they'll do it."