On Friday, a fully operational cross-border drug tunnel was found in San Diego with enough illegal drugs that can kill everyone in the state of California.
Federal officials announced on Monday that they discovered the subterranean passage, which is equipped with a rail system and electricity, near the US-Mexico border in California. They said the sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel linked Tijuana to a warehouse near San Diego’s Otay Mesa border.
The tunnel, according to officials, is 61-feet deep and 4-feet in diameter and has ventilation systems and reinforced walls. As part of the bust, 1,762 pounds of cocaine, 164 pounds of meth and 3.5 pounds of heroin were recovered.
Six suspected dealers were busted and charged with cocaine trafficking, and two of those six were also charged with meth and heroin trafficking, authorities said.
The tunnel was uncovered after authorities said they pulled over trucks they saw coming and going from a home and the warehouse. During those traffic stops, boxes of drugs were found, prosecutors said.
No other drugs were found at the warehouse when authorities raided it, but they spotted a tunnel opening carved into the cement floor, federal prosecutors said.
“There is no more light at the end of this narco-tunnel,” Randy Grossman, US attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement. “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 had been used, but it’s not uncommon for dealers to use tunnels to transport illegal drugs.
“The San Diego law enforcement community throughout the years has consistently shown its ability to detect and remediate tunnels while bringing those responsible to justice,” Homeland Securities Investigations San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said in a statement.
