Drug tunnels are problem for traffickers, law alikeBy Ignacio Ibarra The Arizona Daily Star
All things being -equal, it's easier and cheaper for traffickers and investigators alike if drugs stay above ground.
Although a cross-border tunnel can allow tons of drugs into the United States, it's nothing more than a giant, immovable, expensive piece of evidence once word leaks out.
That's why investigators say aboveground methods of drug trafficking are far
more prevalent.
Even so, "If we were to say there are no more tunnels out there we'd have our heads in the sand," said Special Agent Jim Molesa, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
"We have some information that there's another one out there, maybe more than one," said Ruben Saavedra, commander of the multi-agency Border Alliance Group drug task force and a lieutenant with the Cochise County Sheriff's Department.
"When you hear someone constructed a tunnel, that takes money, that means planning, that means someone organized."
Molesa said tunnels are "a very difficult investigation to make, because even with investigative equipment to locate subterranean tunnels ... it takes. a lot of good footwork where investigators actually are out on the street, talking to people, substantiating leads."
Although drug tunnels aren't the method
See TUNNELS, Page 6a