DRUG TUNNEL DWELLERS FLUSHED OUT

Three Men Face Charges After Eight-Month Investigation Into Cross-Border Tunnel

Three Surrey men were arrested by American authorities Wednesday
afternoon, as they emerged from a 110-metre long tunnel between
Canada and the U.S.

The men were carrying 200 pounds of B.C. Bud" marijuana but were
unarmed and taken into custody without incident, said U.S. Attorney John McKay.

Charged with conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana are
Francis Devandra Raj, 30, Timothy Woo, 34, and Jonathan Valenzuela,
27, all of Surrey. The three men appeared in U.S. District Court in
Seattle Thursday afternoon and remain in custody.

McKay said the tunnel is the first found on the U.S. northern border,
and was significant because we watched as it was completed and the
loads (of contraband) came through," using surveillance equipment.

It was an international investigation which began in Canada in
February, when Canadian authorities were tipped off that a group of
suspects known to Canadian police were planning to build the tunnel.

The sophisticated" tunnel was dug by hand by the three men over an
eight-month period, within shouting distance of the Aldergrove-Lynden
border crossing.

Raj is the owner of the Canadian property where the tunnel started
inside an old quonset hut, and American authorities are investigating
the circumstances surrounding the vacant U.S. farmhouse where the
tunnel exited in the crawl space.

The tunnel ceiling and walls were braced with metre-long 2x6s,
screwed side-by-side for the entire length of the tunnel. It was also
ventilated and wired for electric lights.

Director Kim Scoville of the Canadian Border Services Agency said
officers watched lumber going in and soil coming out (of the quonset
hut). It wasn't too difficult to come to the conclusion that a tunnel
was being built."

Inspector Pat Fogarty of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit
- - B.C. is the officer in charge of the investigation, which involved
law enforcement agencies from both sides of the border.

Fogarty said the coordinated investigation began last February," and
we monitored their activities on both sides of the border, tracked
their progress and allowed completion (of the tunnel).

It was ambitious and sophisticated operation. We executed a number of
search warrants in connection with this operation and are confident
that we've effectively shut down the operation."

DEA special agent Rod Benson said 33 similar tunnels have been
identified by law enforcement officers on the Mexican border and this
is the first found on the Canadian border.

It could have been more ominous," said Benson, as there was a
significant criminal organization responsible for it.

Over the past two years we've seen growth of criminal organizations
smuggling marijuana, and we're starting to see organized crime move
anything as they've gained expertise."

Benson said security concerns about potential human and weapons
smuggling caused officers to shut it down Wednesday after following
several drug deliveries since the tunnel's completion on July 2.

Two Americans were arrested after receiving previous drug deliveries
from the tunnel.

Using a delayed notice" search warrant, U.S. officers entered the
Washington home July 2 to examine the tunnel and followed that with a
court order authorizing installation of cameras and listening devices
inside the home and tunnel.

Officers observed several trips by Raj, Woo and Valenzuela through
the tunnel, carrying hockey bags or garbage bags, which were loaded
into a van and driven south.

In one instance the bags were loaded into an SUV with Utah plates,
which was delivered to a woman with a small child at Bellis Fair
Mall. The Washington State Patrol stopped the vehicle in Ellensburg,
and seized 93 pounds of marijuana.

McKay said investigation on the U.S. side is ongoing and he expects
further charges will be laid against the three Canadian men and other
suspects in the U.S.

They were smart enough to build the tunnel but not smart enough not
to get caught," said McKay.