Three people were arrested after a sophisticated drug tunnel was discovered connecting the United States and Mexico. Officials called the passageway a “super tunnel” because if stretched the length of almost six football fields and came complete with lighting, ventilation, and an electric rail system.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement discovered the tunnel and seized over eight tons of marijuana and 325 pounds of cocaine linked to the tunnel.
The tunnel in question was 35 feet deep , four feet tall, and three feet wide, reports CNN . US Attorney Laura Duffy explained to reporters that the underground passageway was built by Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
Authorities shut down the newly completed tunnel on Wednesday, which connected a warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico, with another warehouse in a San Diego, California, industrial park.
Duffy also had harsh words for cartels tied to drug tunnels like the one found Wednesday. She commented, “If you continue to build and attempt to use these tunnels, we are determined to make this a big waste of your dirty money.”
ABC News notes that the three people arrested in connection with the tunnel worked as drivers. They were charged on Thursday with possession of marijuana and cocaine with intent to distribute. Should they be convicted, they face between 10 years and life in prison.
Tunnels are nothing new in the war between US border security and Mexican drug cartels. ICE heightened security on land, so the cartels are turning to ultralight aircraft, small fishing boats, and tunnels. More than 75 such passages have been found along the border since 2008.
Most of the tunnels were discovered along the border in California and Arizona, though San Diego is particularly popular because its soil is easy to dig. Smugglers in Nogales, Arizona, use vast underground drainage canals to smuggle drugs. The tunnel found this week is the eight major underground passageway in San Diego since 2006.
Seizures linked to the drug tunnel found Wednesday included three tons of marijuana in a truck stopped by police in Chula Vista on Saturday. More than five tons of marijuana was also discovered inside the tunnel, a nearby warehouse, and a truck on Wednesday. The cocaine was recovered from six suitcases inside a van that left the warehouse Wednesday.
