Border Patrol Uncovers Nearly 3,000-Foot Drug Tunnel Beneath U.S.-Mexico Border
U.S. Border Patrol agents have discovered and shut down a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel stretching nearly 3,000 feet beneath the U.S.-Mexico border.
The tunnel, found in early April while still under construction, linked Tijuana, Mexico, with San Diego, California. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the passage ran beneath the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and was intended to surface near or inside a San Diego commercial warehouse.
Agents described the tunnel as highly developed, equipped with lighting, ventilation, electrical wiring, and a rail system to move contraband. At its deepest point, the tunnel reached 50 feet underground and measured 2,918 feet long, 42 inches high, and 28 inches wide.
CBP said authorities encountered barricades inside the tunnel designed to delay or block law enforcement from locating the entrance. That entry point was ultimately found inside a home in Tijuana’s Nueva Tijuana neighborhood, concealed under newly installed tile.
U.S. and Mexican authorities are working together to fill the tunnel with concrete, preventing future use. CBP noted the risk of such infrastructure being exploited not only by cartels but also by foreign terrorist organizations.
“This operation is a critical step in disrupting transnational criminal networks and protecting American communities,” said Jeffrey D. Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent for the San Diego Sector.
Since 1993, more than 95 illicit tunnels have been discovered and dismantled in the San Diego region.
With input from Fox News
