Photo Library
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A rudimentary, hand-dug tunnel connected the diggers to the Nogales drainage system through a "break-in" which can be seen in this photograph.
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An interconnecting tunnel was discovered in a parking lot just across from the border in Nogales, Arizona, which has characteristics of both rudimentary and interconnecting tunnels. A vertical drill was discovered in the tunnel which the smugglers planned to use to break through when the tunneling was complete. The tunnel was discovered before it was completed and remediated to prevent future attempts by illegal smugglers.
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Border Patrol agents remove the robot from the drainage pipe after it completes the task.
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Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Kevin Hecht monitors the information relayed to a console by the robot as it explores the tunnel.
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A Border Patrol agent looks through the steel gates in Nogales' main drainage system, which were built to prevent drug and human trafficking.