US Border Patrol agents recently discovered and shut down a large drug-smuggling tunnel running from Tijuana, Mexico, into California. The tunnel, nearly 3,000 feet long, began under a house in Tijuana and ended near a warehouse in Otay Mesa, just south of San Diego, Daily Mail reported.
The tunnel was still being built when authorities found it in April, but it was already highly advanced. It had electrical wiring, lighting, a ventilation system, and even a rail system to move drugs. Officials believe the Sinaloa Cartel, once run by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is responsible for the tunnel. Though El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado, the cartel remains a powerful criminal group in Mexico and along the border.
Agents said the tunnel measured about 42 inches tall, 28 inches wide, and reached depths of 50 feet underground. Mexican police found the entrance hidden beneath new tile flooring in a house located in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood.
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‘Stopping drug tunnels…’
Border Patrol says the discovery comes as border security remains tight, with fewer illegal crossings in recent years. Jeffrey Stalnaker, the acting chief patrol agent in San Diego, praised the work of the agents who found the tunnel. “Stopping drug tunnels like this is vital to keeping Americans safe,” he said. “I’m proud of our team and the help we got from Mexican police.”
More than 95 tunnels have been found in the San Diego area since 1993. This one will be filled with concrete to prevent future use.
$20,000 for entry into the US
Another tunnel was found earlier this year in El Paso, Texas. That tunnel, discovered on January 9, ran from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, into a storm drain system in El Paso. It had already been used to smuggle people, some of whom paid up to $20,000 for entry into the US. Like the one in California, it was built with lighting, air flow systems, and structural support to prevent collapse.
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