San Luis, AZ (KSWT) — A tunnel believed to be used for the transportation of drugs was discovered under a former Kentucky Fried Chicken Wednesday following a drug bust made in San Luis, Arizona.
According to Homeland Security Investigations and Yuma Border Control, 168 kilograms of drugs, including cocaine, fentanyl, as well as white and brown heroin were discovered in toolboxes during a traffic stop last Monday.
The driver of the vehicle where the drugs were found, Ivan Lopez, was also the owner of the former KFC and had been seen removing toolboxes from the building earlier that day.
Upon executing a search warrant on the building, law enforcement discovered a tunnel described as eight inches in diameter, twenty-two feet deep and running nearly six hundred feet into San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico.
Authorities believe the narcotics smuggled were pulled up with a rope.
"To break that down I'll give you approximate round off numbers. That was over 118 kilograms of methamphetamine, over six kilograms of cocaine, over three kilograms of fentanly, over 13 kilograms of white heroin and over six kilograms of brown heroine," says Scott Brown with Homeland Security Investigations. "I would particularly note that just the three kilograms of fentanly translates to over three million dosage units."