The first laboratory experiments are reported of anomalously high currents drawn by an electron collecting probe in a magnetized plasma stream. The currents exceed the theoretical values by Parker and Murphy [Parker and Murphy, 1967> by more than a factor of three. Measurements of the potential pattern around the probe indicate that the enhanced currents are possible because electrons E¿B-drift into a local field-aligned current channel. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union