SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A tunnel used by a drug trafficking organization was discovered inside a home near the U.S.-Mexico border last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
On Aug. 2, ICE officials said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents and Mexican authorities found a 183-foot-long tunnel in a home in Mexicali, in Baja California.
According to ICE, agents “determined that a drug trafficking organization (DTO) dug the approximate 4-foot by 3-foot tunnel nearly 22 feet beneath the ground.”
ICE added, “The tunnel, which has an entrance measuring 12 feet by 10 feet, extends 3 feet north of the international border wall, but has no exit on the U.S. side of the border. The DTO equipped the tunnel with electricity, ventilation, a rail system with a cart, and an electric hoist.”
Cardell T. Morant, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego, said, “These types of tunnels enable drug traffickers to conduct illicit activities virtually undetected across the U.S.-Mexico border. Discovering and shutting down these tunnels deals a major blow to drug trafficking organizations because it denies them the ability to smuggle drugs, weapons and people across the border.”
HIS is investigating the tunnel discovery, with help from the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector and Mexican government officials.
RELATED COVERAGE:
