Police Find 61 Feet-Deep Drug Smuggling Tunnel Along US-Mexico Border in California
Written by Elizabeth Nyambura on May 19, 2022
Authorities have uncovered a complex drug smuggling tunnel the one-third-mile-long tunnel connected Tijuana to a warehouse near San Diego’s Otay Mesa border.
According to federal officials the tunnel is reportedly 61 feet deep and 4 feet wide, with ventilation systems and reinforced walls and has rail system and electricity along the #US–#Mexico border in #California.
The bust resulted in the recovery of 1,762 pounds of cocaine, 164 pounds of meth, and 3.5 pounds of heroin. Authorities charged six suspects with cocaine trafficking, two of whom were also charged with meth and heroin trafficking.
According to federal prosecutors, when authorities stormed the facility, they found no other drugs, but they did see a tunnel hole drilled into the cement floor.
“There is no more light at the end of this narco-tunnel,” said US attorney Randy Grossman. “We will take down every subterranean smuggling route we find to keep illicit drugs from reaching our streets and destroying our families and communities.”
It’s unclear how long the route has been utilized, but drug dealers frequently use tunnels to transfer contraband.