Drug tunnel which ran from the US to Mexico found under a former KFC restaurant

David Harding
·Contributor
The tunnel was discovered under an old KFC restaurant in Arizona (Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP)
The tunnel was discovered under an old KFC restaurant in Arizona (Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP)

That is one big takeaway.

Police in the United States have uncovered a secret drug tunnel stretching from a former KFC in the state of Arizona all the way to Mexico.

The almost 600ft-long passageway was in the basement of the old restaurant in San Luis in the US, leading under the border to a home in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico.

Authorities found the tunnel last week. They have subsequently arrested the owner of the building in the US, said KYMA News.

The property in Mexico (Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP)
The property in Mexico (Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP)

A traffic stop by cops of the owner, Ivan Lopez, led to the discovery not only of the tunnel but also a large haul of drugs.

During the stop, police dogs reportedly led officers to two containers of hard narcotics with a street value of more than $1m inside Lopez’s vehicle.

Investigators say the containers held 118kg (260lb) of methamphetamine, six grams of cocaine, 3kg of fentanyl, and 21kg of heroin.

READ MORE ON YAHOO NEWS UK

British couple die and more guests fall ill in Egyptian hotel
‘Shame on you’: Woman leaves nasty note for dad’s ‘not genuine’ use of disabled parking spot
Isolated Amazon tribe captured in remarkable drone footage
Luton Airport named UK’s ‘worst airport’ for the third year in a row
In pictures: Premier League billionaire docks 321ft superyacht Aviva on the Thames

They then searched his home and his old KFC restaurant, discovering the tunnel’s entrance in the kitchen.

The passageway was 22ft deep, and 590 feet long. It ended up in a house across the Mexican border.

The drugs are believed to have been pulled up through the tunnel with a rope.

However, this is not the first such discovery of such a tunnel by police.

In 2016, a 2,600ft-long tunnel was found by authorities in San Diego, California, also being used to transport illegal narcotics.

Authorities then said it was one of the longest such drug tunnels ever discovered, used to transport an ‘unprecedented cache’ of cocaine and marijuana.

The tunnel stretched for almost 600 feet (Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP)
The tunnel stretched for almost 600 feet (Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP)

Drug trafficking on on the US-Mexico border remains a huge problem.

In July alone, US Border Patrol seized 15kg of heroin, 24lbs of cocaine, 327kg of methamphetamine and 1,900kg of marijuana at border checkpoints nationwide.