Federal officials find another drug-smuggling tunnel

U.S. authorities on Thursday said they found a sophisticated tunnel used to smuggle drugs between Mexico and San Diego, the second such discovery in the region in less than a month.

The half-mile passage runs from a residence in Tijuana to a warehouse in San Diego's Otay Mesa area, the San Diego Tunnel Task Force said in a statement.

Federal border patrol, drug enforcement, immigration and customs enforcement agents in the task force arrested several suspects and seized an undetermined amount of marijuana in a tractor-trailer on U.S. soil, the statement said.

The statement said authorities believed more marijuana was being stored in the tunnel. Agents were working with the Mexican military on the investigation.

Officials said they would release more details Friday afternoon.

Earlier this month, federal agents made one of the largest marijuana seizures in the United States when they confiscated 20 tons of marijuana they said was smuggled into the country through a tunnel connecting warehouses on each side of the California-Mexico border. Mexican authorities seized more than four tons of pot from the warehouse south of the border.

The secret passageway ran the length of six football fields and had lighting, ventilation and a rail system to send loads of illegal drugs from Mexico into California, officials said.

-- Associated Press

Photo: Rails are seen inside a tunnel discovered on Thursday. The tunnel, which connects Tijuana to the United States, had a ventilation system and electricity, officials said. Credit: Reuters

Comments

[commentator]

As beloved Nancy Reagan used to say: "Just say no" to drugs. Has it worked since she started that slogan?? Well, the proof is in the pudding, America has long lost the war on drugs. Get over it and surrender DEA, FBI, LAPD, DOJ, CIA, FDA! The fact of the matter is, America is long addicted to drugs.

[Bill]

All of this would stop if we could grow our own legally ! --- Prohibition of alcohol was a miserable failure, it should be a lesson from history. --- Prop 19 failed this time, but there will be another version coming soon to a ballot near you.

[Rob Williams]

TART Tijuana Rapid Transit!

[Warren]

Buy California grown Cannabis and Wine.

Thanks you Feds for supporting Cannabis growers.

[SacramentoSteve]

Im sure more than drugs and people have been smuggled through the tunnles.

[Kurt]

Sounds impressive, but in fact it is a fraction and makes no difference to the drug supply. I am not a drug user, only alcohol, haha but we should have legalized Marijuana and tax it properly

[obama]

just drop toxic chemicals down there and kill em all like the rats that they are

[SanityNow]

Mexico and all the crime, poverty, corruption and blatant illegal immigration it produces has become a blight on our Country. It sickens me to no end. Watching the S. Ca. I moved to 35 yrs. ago turn into a gang infested, grafitti, illegal immigrant mecca makes me cry. It's worse than having Afganistan on our border.
Mexico has become one if not the most dangerous, corrupt country in the world.

Our prisons, schools, tax base and quality of life has been forever altered for the worse and I don't see it getting better in our lifetime.

RIP.

[RWh]

Boy, it is going to take a helluva lot of concrete to fill that hole.

[Bruce Robert Montague]

Merry Christmas! Please be sober.