600ft-long drug smuggling tunnel found linking kitchen of old KFC restaurant to Mexico bedroom
A man who owns the KFC was arrested after border patrol sniffer dogs caught him with 168 kilos of cocaine and heroin
THESE images reveal how a 600ft-long tunnel underneath a disused KFC kitchen has been used to smuggle millions of pounds worth of drugs across the US-Mexico border.
Cops have arrested a man who owned the former KFC restaurant after catching him with 168 kilos of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, carrying an estimated street value of $20million.
The 22ft-deep tunnel was discovered following a traffic stop on a pickup truck by Arizona police.
During the stop a sniffer dog was brought in which alerted Yuma Sector Border Patrol officials of the vast drug contents contained in two toolboxes.
In addition to the Class A drugs found in the toolboxes, three million doses worth of Fentanyl, an opioid similar to morphine, was recovered.
Special agent Scott Brown, speaking at a press conference yesterday said: "As a nation in the midst of an opioid crisis, this is obviously a significant seizure."
Mr Brown said the tunnel was five feet high and three feet wide and has been linked to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel, the predominant drug cartel operating in the area.
"The narcotics, we believe, were raised up by rope, loaded into toolboxes, and taken from the restaurant," Brown said.
Chief Patrol Agent Anthony J. Porvaznik said: "Tunnels represent an elusive and dangerous threat to our country and are used by criminal organisations seeking to thwart border control.
"They can be used to smuggle people and narcotics, and pose a risk to be exploited by terrorist organisations wishing to harm our people and way of life."
The arrested man has been identified as Ivan Lopez.