Huge cross-border tunnel discovered linking Tijuana, San Diego

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

The key passage from Tijuana to San Diego featured rail and ventilation systems, electrical energy and reinforced walls, authorities stated. It was discovered near San Diego’s Otay Mesa border crossing in an area the place more than a dozen other refined tunnels have been found in the final two decades.

U.S. authorities said it was unknown how long the tunnel had been working and what amount of medicine, if any, bought via 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 individuals, ages 31 to 55, had been charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine. All are Southern California residents.

The tunnel is in probably the most fortified stretches of the border, illustrating the limitations of border walls. Whereas considered efficient against small, crudely built tunnels referred to as “gopher holes,” partitions are no match for extra refined passages that run deeper underground.

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

The type of medication seized could sign a shift from the multi-ton a great deal of marijuana that had been often found in discoveries before California legalized pot for recreational use in 2019.

Onerous drugs, comparable to heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl, are usually smuggled through official border crossings from Mexico as a result of their small size and lack of odor make them troublesome to detect. However tunnels give smugglers an advantage of with the ability to carry enormous loads at lightning speed.

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

After staking out a home that was just lately used to stash drugs, officials started making site visitors stops of autos that had been there or at a warehouse close to the border, turning up bins filled with cocaine, in response to a federal felony grievance filed in San Diego.

They raided the properties — finding no different medicine at the warehouse, but a tunnel opening carved into the cement flooring, federal prosecutors said.

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

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

The cross-border passages date back to the early Nineties and have been used primarily to smuggle multi-ton a great deal of marijuana. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stated in 2020 that they're generally present in California and Arizona and related to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.

Authorities declined to link the most recent tunnel to any particular cartel. They claimed victory despite not figuring out how lengthy it had been operating.

“There isn't a more light on the finish of this narco-tunnel,” said Randy Grossman, U.S. legal professional for the Southern District of California. “We will take down every subterranean smuggling route we discover to keep illicit medication from reaching our streets and destroying our families and communities.”

By federal law, U.S. authorities must fill the U.S. side of tunnels with concrete after they are found.

___=

Associated Press writer Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed.