SAN LUIS, Ariz. - A traffic stop on Aug. 13 led to the discovery of a cross-border tunnel in San Luis, Ariz., officials with Homeland Security and Border Patrol said Wednesday during a news conference.
The tunnel was found under the building, owned by Yuma resident Ivan Lopez, which used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.
According to KYMA in Yuma, San Luis police stopped Lopez and a K-9 united alerted authorities to two toolboxes in his truck. Lopez had been seen earlier in the day removing the toolboxes from the building he owns.
Inside the toolboxes authorities found nearly 400 pounds of narcotics, including meth, cocaine, fentanyl and heroin.
The cross-border tunnel, which is only eight inches in diameter, was found in the kitchen.
Authorities said the tunnel was 22 feet deep, 590 feet long, and believe smuggled drugs were being pulled up with a rope, according to KYMA.
A trap door opened under a bed at a residence San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora on the tunnel's Mexico side.