Investigators Unearth Drug Tunnel, Drug Traffickers Employ Sophisticated Methods for Smuggling
It is not an underground city, or a place to help slaves and persecuted citizens escape, but a tunnel pathway for drug traffickers to move marijuana with state-of-the-art transportation technology from Mexico to the United States.
This drug tunnel recently discovered by federal officials came equipped with a secret working elevator, electric lighting, rail cars and hydraulic doors. The tunnel was reportedly discovered before drug smugglers could use it to get drugs into the hands of American customers.
“From the conditions inside the passageway and our ongoing investigation, we’re confident we’ve been able to shut this operation down before the perpetrators were able to use it for smuggling narcotics,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Derek Benner in a statement.
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This tunnel was described by Lauren Lack, a spokesperson for ICE to ABC news as the “most sophisticated that we have discovered perhaps ever, but definitely at least in the last five years.”
The tunnel runs underneath the U.S. Border between America and Mexico and ends in San Diego.
“The tunnel was located after we were informed of it by U.S. authorities,” said Tijuana police chief Ricardo Garduno to AFP.
Authorities seized 32 tons of marijuana in the 600-yard-plus tunnel that is valued at $65 million. Its discovery was the result of a six-month investigation by several law enforcement agencies including San Diego’s Tunnel Task Force as well as Mexican authorities.
This discovery of this tunnel is part of many recent high profile finds in the war on drugs. Over 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels have been uncovered since 2007, according to ICE.
Authorities seized 14 tons of marijuana from warehouses connected to a drug tunnel from Mexico to the same San Diego neighborhood as this tunnel discovered recently.
