US authorities discover 'drugs tunnel' running from Arizona to Mexico

Tunnel had electric lighting, makeshift ventilation and a hydraulic lift

The tunnel stretches from a town in Arizona into Mexico (ITN)

US officials have discovered what appears to be a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel connecting a small town in Arizona to Mexico after seizing millions of dollars of marijuana.

Earlier this week, local police officers in Bisbee, Arizona, received a tip-off from federal investigators expecting a large drugs shipment to pass through the small town.

After pulling over a small truck on a traffic violation on Monday evening, officers discovered 4,793 pounds of marijuana, worth approximately $3million, stacked in the rear of the vehicle in 200 tightly bound packages.

Bisbee officers arrested two men and following the illegal drugs find authorities requested a search warrant for a nearby property in Naco.

Searching the home, officers were astounded to discover the entrance to a well-built tunnel hidden beneath a garden shed.

It ran from Naco in Arizona all the way to Sonora in Mexico.

The tunnel, which contains a hydraulic lift, electric lighting, and a makeshift air ventilation system, is thought to have been in use for some time.

Mexican authorities are now involved in the investigation and are examining the tunnel.

It is hardly the first time such a tunnel has been discovered, although the structure is unusual for its apparent sophistication.

In 2013, Associated Press claimed that more than 100 tunnels from the US to Mexico had been found since 1990.