CALEXICO, Calif. (Border Report) — Authorities believe drug traffickers dug a 183-foot-long tunnel near the U.S.-Mexico border and outfitted it with electricity, ventilation, a rail system and an electric hoist.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents with the Homeland Security Division and Mexican officials found the tunnel in a home in Mexicali, Baja California, on Monday. The tunnel was about four feet by three feet wide and was 22 feet below the ground. The tunnel came within three feet of the international border wall but did not reach the United States.
Cardell T. Morant, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego, said in a release drug traffickers use tunnels like this one to “conduct illicit activities virtually undetected” near and across the 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,” Morant said.
