Recently law enforcement officials discovered the 40th drug tunnel in Nogales.

It is beginning to seem like “Drug tunnel discovered in Nogales” is one of those standard headlines repeated every few days in newspapers, along with “Bus plunge kills 32” and “Roadside bomb explodes in Iraq.”

Regrettably, Nogales is becoming famous for its industrious moles that dig beneath city streets and out from under rented buildings to facilitate the transport of drugs, weapons and illegal migrants between the United States and Mexico.

Now, let us consider that the drug-related violence in Mexico is hurting the tourist trade in Ambos Nogales. What can be done to get more tourists to visit Nogales, Ariz.?

How about capitalizing on being the drug tunnel capital of America and creating the Nogales Drug Tunnel Museum?

This museum could feature a map of the city showing where each of the 40 tunnels started from and where they went.

This museum could also exhibit photos of the tunnels.

Replicas of what has been discovered in some of the tunnels could also be displayed �- bundles of marijuana, packets of cocaine.

A mockup of one of the better constructed tunnels could be re-created so visitors could experience what it is like crawling through a hole two feet wide.

The robot used to peer into newly discovered drug tunnels could be on display. If memory serves me correctly, the robot is a track-mounted camera owned by the City of Nogales that is ordinarily used to inspect city sewer lines. Videos taken by the robot could be shown.

How drug tunnels are sealed could also be shown.

I think many people would love to take a tour of the Nogales Drug Tunnel Museum.

I am not suggesting having tours of some of the real drug tunnels. A few years back, in a tongue-in-cheek article in the Bandersnatch, I claimed that drug tunnel tours were available in Nogales. However, instead of realizing this was a joke, someone from the Discovery Channel called the local chamber of commerce asking to schedule such a tour.

However, the museum idea is serious. The Border Patrol ought to spring for the cost of setting this up.

Maybe even admission could be charged to help defray the cost of shoring up portions of the city that will eventually collapse into a giant sinkhole cause by the tunnels that have been dug beneath the town.

Meanwhile, I am wondering when the Nogales city code will be amended to make digging tunnels inside the city without a permit and make it a violation of law, subject to an enormous fine. Given the frequency of the tunneling, this could be a major new revenue source for local government.

(Holub is a resident of Tubac and the editor/publisher of the Frumious Bandersnatch, www.bandersnatch.com.)