Massive drug tunnel discovered at San Diego border

Massive drug tunnel discovered at San Diego border

2010-11-04 06:02:46 GMT+7 (ICT)

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) -- A massive drug tunnel on Wednesday was discovered at the San Diego-Tijuana border during an operation in which U.S. authorities seized more than 20 tons of marijuana, officials said.

The tunnel is a roughly 1,800-foot (about 5900 meters) passageway found in a warehouse in Otay Mesa. The elaborated drug tunnel connects Mexico and the United States and has the length of six football fields.

The tunnel was not a temporary passageway as it was equipped with rail, light and ventilation systems. The other entrance in the Mexican side of the border was located in a warehouse in an industrial area.

Mexican authorities also conducted an operation on the other entrance. At the warehouse, law enforcement officials seized four tons of marijuana. The tunnel was discovered two weeks after Mexican authorities secured a record 105 tons of marijuana.

The Tijuana-Otay Mesa tunnel was the latest corridor discovered in the last four years. Approximately 75 tunnels have been discovered most of them in construction sites. Reports indicate that since the 1990s around 125 drug smuggling tunnels have been unearthed.

In recent times the U.S.-Mexico border has been the focus of drug dealers that use the area to operate their illegal criminal activities. the border city of Tijuana has suffered violent attacks among drug cartels that have caused many fatalities.

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