Seal Both Borders

What border can we control. If my name was Mohammed I would tunnel through the Canadian border. Better fishing!

Third border tunnel defendant pleads guilty
By GENE JOHNSONAP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER
SEATTLE -- The last of three men charged with digging a sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel under the U.S.-Canadian border pleaded guilty on Friday, two days after a Senate bill was introduced to make cross-border tunneling punishable by 20 years in prison.
Timothy Woo faces at least five years in prison and a maximum fine of $2 million when he is sentenced for conspiracy to smuggle marijuana, as do Francis Devandra Raj and Jonathan Valenzuela, who previously entered guilty pleas.
All three are from Surrey, British Columbia. They were arrested last July, shortly after they finished the 360-foot tunnel just north of Lynden - the first tunnel discovered along the U.S.-Canadian border. It ran from the living room of a home on the U.S. side to a boarded-up Quonset hut on the Canadian side.
Border guards noticed construction materials being brought into the hut, and loads of dirt coming out, and investigators used the Patriot Act's provision for "sneak-and-peek" search warrants to examine the tunnel and set up cameras to monitor it.
The investigators allowed three marijuana-running trips to take place in the tunnel in hopes of learning more about the suspects and whether they were involved in a wider drug ring. In each case the defendants were tailed as they left the tunnel.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash; Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would make financing or building a cross-border tunnel punishable by 20 years in prison. Though it is illegal now to avoid examination at the border, tunneling is not specifically a crime.

"This is an issue of national security," Cantwell said. "We need to keep drugs out of our communities and terrorists out of our country."
Since Sept. 11, 2001, 35 border tunnels have been discovered in the United States - all but one on the Mexican border, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"There's always a concern that this is a harbinger of future events," U.S. Attorney John McKay said Friday. "We have to stay vigilant."
McKay said he could not comment specifically on the proposed legislation.
However, he said creating harsh penalties for tunnel financing and construction could actually hinder the efforts of law enforcement. Canadian authorities were extremely reluctant to allow the drug smugglers to make runs through the tunnel for fear that they might get away. U.S. investigators shared that concern, but convinced the Canadians it was essential for building the case against the three suspects and for conducting a broader investigation.
If tunnel-building itself carries a 20-year sentence, Canadian authorities could argue that American prosecutors don't so much need to verify what suspects are using the tunnel for, McKay suggested.
Cantwell spokeswoman Charla Neuman said the legislation is designed to give investigators more options.
"You can still convince the Canadians that monitoring is necessary," Neuman said. "And say the Canadians don't agree. At least you can still go after the criminals for something."
The investigators have not determined who financed the tunnel's construction, estimated to have cost more than $20,000.
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Gene Johnson has covered courts and legal affairs for the AP since 2000