Big cross-border tunnel found linking Tijuana, San Diego

SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. authorities on Monday announced the discovery of a major drug smuggling tunnel — working about the length of a six soccer fields — from Mexico to a warehouse in an industrial space in the U.S.

The secret passage from Tijuana to San Diego featured rail and ventilation programs, electricity and strengthened walls, authorities stated. It was found near San Diego’s Otay Mesa border crossing in an space where greater than a dozen other sophisticated tunnels have been discovered within the final two decades.

U.S. authorities mentioned it was unknown how long the tunnel had been operating and what quantity of medicine, if any, got by means of undetected. They seized 1,762 kilos (799 kg) of cocaine, 165 pounds (75 kg) of meth and 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) of heroin in reference to the investigation.

Six folks, ages 31 to 55, were charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine. All are Southern California residents.

The tunnel is in some of the fortified stretches of the border, illustrating the constraints of border walls. While thought-about efficient against small, crudely constructed tunnels called “gopher holes,” walls are not any match for more subtle passages that run deeper underground.

The newest passage, found Friday, ran one-third of a mile (532 m) to Tijuana. It was 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter and about six stories deep.

The type of medication seized may sign a shift from the multi-ton loads of marijuana that were typically found in discoveries earlier than California legalized pot for leisure use in 2019.

Onerous medication, comparable to heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl, are sometimes smuggled through official border crossings from Mexico because their small dimension and lack of odor make them difficult to detect. However tunnels give smugglers a bonus of with the ability to carry big hundreds at lightning pace.

The tunnel exited america in a nondescript warehouse named “Amistad Park” on a avenue that is busy with large semitrailers throughout the day however quiet at night time. On Monday, armed guards watched over a small shaft with a ladder that descended into the tunnel.

After staking out a home that was not too long ago used to stash medicine, officers started making traffic stops of automobiles that had been there or at a warehouse near the border, turning up packing containers full of cocaine, based on a federal prison criticism filed in San Diego.

They raided the properties — discovering no other medication on the warehouse, however a tunnel opening carved into the cement ground, federal prosecutors said.

Authorities have discovered about 15 subtle tunnels on California’s border with Mexico since 2006.

Many tunnels, including the one introduced Monday, are in San Diego’s Otay Mesa industrial area, the place clay-like soil is conducive to digging and warehouses provide cowl.

The cross-border passages date again to the early 1990s and have been used primarily to smuggle multi-ton loads of marijuana. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in 2020 that they are generally present in California and Arizona and related to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

Authorities declined to link the newest tunnel to any specific cartel. They claimed victory regardless of not knowing how long it had been operating.

“There is no more gentle at the finish of this narco-tunnel,” stated Randy Grossman, U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of California. “We will take down each subterranean smuggling route we find to keep illicit medicine from reaching our streets and destroying our families and communities.”

By federal legislation, U.S. authorities should fill the U.S. aspect of tunnels with concrete after they are found.

___=

Related Press author Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed.