VOA慢速英语--墨西哥毒贩挖隧道往美国运毒品

AS IT IS 2016-03-30 Drug Traffickers Dig Tunnel Into US 墨西哥毒贩挖隧道往美国运毒品

The United States and Mexico announced they discovered a long tunnel used to smuggle¹ drugs into the U.S.

They said the tunnel began in a restaurant in Mexicali, Mexico and ended about 365 meters away in a new, three-bedroom home in Calexico, California. Calexico is a small city about 193 kilometers east of San Diego. About 40,000 people live there.

American officials say drug traffickers bought land in Calexico for $240,000 in April 2015. They spent $86,000 to build the house, which was completed in December.

The announcement about the tunnel was made after police arrested four people in the U.S. and two in Mexico. Two women were arrested in Arizona, including a person who reportedly bought the property in Calexico. 

Police seized 1,350 pounds of marijuana in West Covina, near Los Angeles. Officials say the traffickers began smuggling² illegal drugs through the tunnel February 28. Officials say they began watching the criminals when they started using the tunnel.

Laura Duffy is the U.S. Attorney³ for the Southern District of California. She said “this house and this tunnel were constructed under the watchful⁴ eye of law enforcement⁵. For the builders, the financiers and the operators⁶ of these passageways, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We will seize your drugs and your tunnel before you even have a chance to use it.”

Officials say this is the first time they have discovered a completed tunnel in Calexico in 10 years. They say drug gangs⁷ usually do not build tunnels into the city because the soil is hard. 

Officials say the drug gangs prefer to dig tunnels near San Diego. The clay-like soil there is easier to dig. And the area is near the Mexico border and has many large storage buildings where drug gangs can store drugs.

More than 75 tunnels have been found in the past five years, mostly in California and Arizona. Many of them were not complete. The tunnel between Mexicali and Calexico was the 12th completed tunnel that American anti-drug agents have found along California’s border with Mexico since 2006. 

Officials say the Sinaloa drug group in Mexico has for many years controlled drug trafficking along the border of California’s Imperial⁸ Valley. Long, well-built roads, called interstate freeways, let the traffickers easily transport drugs from the Valley to Los Angeles, California and Phoenix⁹, Arizona.

The drug group has been led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. He escaped from a prison in Mexico through a tunnel in July. He was recaptured in January.

Words in This Story

tunnel - n. an underground passageway

smuggle - v. to illegally transport drugs or people

drug traffickers - n. criminals who transport illegal drugs

financier - n. a person or group that provides money for projects

light at the end of the tunnel - expression ?hope of success, happiness or help after a long period of difficulty; sign of improvement¹⁰ in a situation that has been bad for a long time

prefer - v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else

clay - n. heavy, sticky dirt or earth 

1 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 attorney   

n.（业务或法律事务上的）代理人，辩护律师

参考例句：

• He acted as attorney for me.他充当我的律师。
• The attorney for the union accused the Mayor of playing politics.工会的律师谴责市长在这次罢工中耍阴谋。

4 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

5 enforcement   

n.实施, 执行

参考例句：

• MPs called for tougher enforcement of the existing laws on drugs. 下院议员呼籲加强现行毒品法律的执行力度。
• The court is ineffective because it lacks the necessary enforcement machinery. 法院效率低是因为缺乏必要的执行机制。

6 operators   

n.（某企业的）经营者( operator的名词复数 )；（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员；投机取巧者

参考例句：

• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market. 大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。 来自辞典例句
• Green house operators have considerable opportunity for precise manipulation of nutrients. 温室管理员有很多机会来准确控制养分。 来自辞典例句

7 gangs   

n.（罪犯有组织的）一帮( gang的名词复数 )；一伙；（闹事青少年的）一群；（工人有组织的）一队

参考例句：

• Gangs of youths went on the rampage in the city yesterday. 成群结伙的年轻人昨天在城里横冲直撞。
• a vicious turf war between rival gangs of drug dealers 对立贩毒团伙之间的猛烈火并

8 imperial   

adj.帝王的，至尊的；n.特等品

参考例句：

• They made an objection to the imperial system with resolution.他们坚决反对帝制。
• The Prince Imperial passed away last night.皇太子昨晚去世了。

9 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

10 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。