TRIAL SET FOR TUNNEL TRIO

Surrey Men Remain In U.S. Jail

A trial date of Sept. 26 has been set for three Surrey men accused of
tunnelling under the Canada-U.S. border to smuggle drugs.

Francis Devandra Raj, 30, Timothy Woo, 34, and Jonathan Valenzuela, 27,
were arrested on the U.S side of the border on July 21 and charged with
conspiracy to distribute and import marijuana.

They are being held in a Washington State jail while they wait for their
trial to be held in Seattle.

The trio allegedly excavated a 110-metre tunnel that ran three metres below
the ground beneath the 2600 block of 0 Avenue in Aldergrove, linking a
metal Quonset hut on the Canadian side to a house on the American side.

The tunnel, a sophisticated affair that had its own lighting, sump pump and
air ventilation system, will be sealed off tomorrow (Thursday), the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said.

A crew will cut through the roadway above the tunnel on the U.S. side to
insert steel and cement barriers and to fill the tunnel with dirt and gravel.

As well, a liquid foam cement that hardens like rock will be pumped into
the tunnel to close it off permanently.

The Associated Press reported that Rodney Benson, special agent in charge
of the Seattle Field Division of the DEA, has predicted there will soon be
more arrests in the case, the first drug tunnel ever discovered along the
Canada-U.S. border.

Meanwhile, the house on the U.S. side has been seized by the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Seattle, which is reportedly applying to seize the
Canadian property as well.