- Megan Fisher
- BBC News
3 hours ago
Prosecutors described the cross-border tunnel as “complex”
The US authorities have found a huge tunnel for transporting drugs from the Mexican city of Tijuana to a warehouse in San Diego, in the United States.
The tunnel is 1,744 feet (531 meters) long and has a railway track, electricity and a ventilation system.
The US authorities were monitoring a drug that was previously used as a hideout for cocaine smuggling when they discovered this tunnel.
The authorities seized a quantity of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, and arrested six people on drug smuggling charges.
picture released, US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, CALIFORNIA
A tunnel similar to this one (but much longer) was discovered in 2020
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said the tunnel was 18 meters deep and up to one meter in diameter.
Before this tunnel was found, prosecutors say, officers saw several cars coming and going from the Tijuana property and warehouse on Friday 13 May.
Then the authorities stopped and searched these cars, seized drugs, and arrested the accused.
When the officers entered the warehouse, they found the starting point of the cross-border tunnel dug out of the ground.
picture released, US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, CALIFORNIA
A railway track passes through the tunnel
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said that 799 kilograms of cocaine, 74 kilograms of methamphetamine and regarding one and a half kilograms of heroin were seized.
The suspects, aged between 31 and 55, might face life imprisonment and a $1 million fine if found guilty.
picture released, Archyde.com
Picture of drugs found during this investigation
“There is no longer any light at the end of this drug tunnel,” said US Attorney Randy Grossman.
“We will remove all smuggling routes that we find underground to prevent illegal drugs from reaching our streets and destroying our families and communities,” he added.
The most recent drug smuggling tunnel was found in California in 2020.
This was the longest tunnel found so far, with a length of 1,313 meters, and since 1993, 90 such secret passages have been discovered.