53 arrested near border; tunnel found

Green Valley News

Border Patrol agents arrested 53 illegal border crossers near a small village on the Tohono O’odham Nation and later discovered a tunnel used for smuggling in Nogales, Ariz.

Agents from the Casa Grande Border Patrol Station were patrolling near Kaka on Tohono land Friday when they found footprints. They tracked them to a group of 53 Mexican nationals who were illegally in the United States, according to the agency.

In a separate incident, agents from the Nogales Border Patrol Station working west of the DeConcini Port of Entry discovered a smuggler’s tunnel.

The tunnel was dug under the border and then cut into an existing drainage system, according to the agency. It was discovered about 50 feet north of the border.

Since October 2008, there have been 11 tunnels discovered in the Tucson Sector, nearly double the same time last fiscal year.