Pubdate: Sat, 23 Jul 2005
Source: Star-Banner, The (FL)
Copyright: 2005 The Star-Banner
Contact:  http://www.starbanner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1533
Author: Gene Johnson, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

DRUG-SMUGGLING TUNNEL SHUT DOWN

LYNDEN, Wash. - Federal agents have shut down an elaborate, 360-foot
drug-smuggling tunnel dug underneath the U.S.-Canadian border - the
first such passageway discovered along the nation's northern edge,
officials said Thursday.

Five people were arrested on marijuana trafficking charges, U.S.
Attorney John McKay said in this border town about 90 miles north of
Seattle.

The tunnel ran from a quonset hut on the Canadian side and ended under
the living room of a home on the U.S. side, 300 feet from the border.
Built with lumber, concrete and metal reinforcing bars, it was
equipped with lights and ventilation, and ran underneath a highway.

The passageway was 3 to 4 feet high and wide, and it ran anywhere from
3 to 10 feet below ground, authorities said.

Authorities had been monitoring construction of the tunnel for six
months and sealed it Wednesday shortly after it opened, he said.

Although numerous smuggling tunnels have been found on the
U.S.-Mexican border, this was the first discovered along the border
with Canada, McKay said. Canadian authorities learned of the tunnel in
February and alerted U.S. officials.

Francis Devandra Raj, 30; Timothy Woo, 34; and Johnathan Valenzuela,
27, of Surrey, British Columbia, were arrested Wednesday. They were
charged with conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana.

On July 16, two other people were arrested separately in Washington
state for transporting marijuana that had come through the tunnel,
said Greg Gassett, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

One was a woman who authorities said had 93 pounds of marijuana in her
vehicle when she was stopped. The other was a man pulled over with 110
pounds of the drug.
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