SAN DIEGO – A cross-border drug tunnel discovered Tuesday has turned out to be one of the most sophisticated ever found.
The latest secret passage — equipped with a hydraulic lift, electric rail carts and a wooden staircase — was discovered on the U.S.-Mexico border, highlighting an emerging seasonal trend. For three years, authorities have found sophisticated tunnels shortly before the winter holidays in what officials speculate is an attempt by drug smugglers to take advantage of Mexico’s fall marijuana harvest.
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The discovery of the 600-yard tunnel resulted in seizures of 32 tons of marijuana, one of the largest pot busts in U.S. history. It linked warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana and was equipped with lighting and ventilation. Wooden planks lined the floor about 40 feet underground.
“This is an incredibly efficient tunnel designed to move a lot of narcotics,” said Derek Benner, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s special agent in charge of investigations in San Diego said Wednesday.
Authorities recovered nearly 17 tons of marijuana at the warehouse in San Diego’s Otay Mesa area, nearly 12 tons inside a truck in Los Angeles and about four tons in Mexico. Six people were charged in federal court in Southern California with conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
As U.S. authorities heighten enforcement on land, tunnels have become a major tack to smuggle enormous loads of marijuana. More than 70 passages have been found on the border since October 2008.
Two weeks ago, authorities seized 17 tons of marijuana in connection with a tunnel that linked warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana.
Raids last November on two tunnels linking San Diego and Tijuana netted a combined 52 tons of marijuana on both sides of the border. In early December 2009, authorities found an incomplete tunnel that stretched nearly 900 feet into San Diego from Tijuana.
“If they can’t cross the border above ground, they attempt to tunnel underneath it,” said Laura Duffy, the U.S. attorney in San Diego.
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