Border agents find unfinished 30-foot cross-border tunnel under Nogales

Arizona and Mexico border agents found an unfinished 30-foot tunnel underneath the streets of Nogales on Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in a press release on Thursday. 

The discovery marks the fourth cross-border tunnel documented by Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector since the start of its fiscal year on Oct. 1, according to its acting supervisor Jacob Stukenberg. It's also the third unfinished tunnel to be found this fiscal year and the 126th tunnel discovered overall since 1990, he said. 

Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector, along with law enforcement in Mexico, found the tunnel about 580 yards west of the Dennis DeConcini Crossing at the Nogales Port of Entry, the press release said. Its entrance was found inside the floor of the Grand Avenue drainage system in Mexico, according to the press release.

The tunnel was described in the press release as "rudimentary" and hand-dug with no shoring, ventilation or lighting. It was about 15 to 20 feet underground at its deepest point and about 30 feet from start to end, "where the cartel left it incomplete," the press release said. 

The tunnel was coming up near the fence at the U.S.-Mexico border and the direction of digging was towards the border but it was not done, according to Stukenberg 

"U.S. Border Patrol regularly works with the Government of Mexico, and binational cooperation with Mexican law enforcement plays a vital role in border security," the press release said. "Efforts such as tunnel sweeps aim to disrupt smuggling organizations and prevent the smuggling of narcotics and humans across the border."

Recently, an active tunnel was found in Nogales. On Dec. 17, Homeland Security special agents uncovered an active drug tunnel inside a home in downtown Nogales. 

Reach the reporter at chelsea.curtis@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels. 

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral today.