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Drugs tunnel found under Mexico-US border
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-01-28 13:51
US authorities have discovered, what they say is the largest and most
sophisticated tunnel under their border with Mexico, one that was used by drug
trafficking gangs.
The hills of
Tijuana are seen in the background from the San Ysidro point of entry on
the US-Mexico border in San Ysidro, CA. US and Mexican authorities have
discovered a massive, one-kilometer (0.65 miles) long tunnel dug under
their border by drug traffickers, one of the largest ever found.
[AFP] |
The tunnel, lined with concrete and
equipped with ventilation and lights, is one kilometer- (0.62 mile-) long,
according to Mexican officials, but their US counterparts say it was only about
727 meters (2,400 feet).
The secret route is cut a staggering 26 meters (85.3 feet) below ground,
directly under a heavily protected sector of the frontier and is much larger
than the 21 others detected under the border since the September 11, 2001 terror
attacks on US soil, US officials said.
"We believe this tunnel is, in fact, the largest tunnel ever found on the
Southwest border," said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge for US
Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego.
The tunnel, discovered late Wednesday by US Border Patrol agents who tipped
off Mexican authorities, begins beneath a warehouse in the Mexican border town
of Tijuana and stretches to Otay, near the California city of San Diego.
The length and well-built structure of the tunnel, which was 1.5 meters wide
(4.9 feet), make it unusual.
Authorities found more than two tons of marijuana in the tunnel that US
officials fear could also be used by people smugglers and even terrorists trying
to circumvent the border.
"We're very concerned," said Unzueta. "When we find these tunnels, we see
that as a vulnerability to our national security."
Mexican police raided the warehouse in Tijuana and discovered a 1.8 by 3.6
meter (six by twelve foot) concrete-lined shaft equipped with a ladder that
drops down to the tunnel below.
A gurney hanging from a pulley system attached to one of the warehouse's
beams allowed items to be moved into and out of the tunnel.
Portions of the tunnel are 15-18 meters (50 to 60 feet) deep, Unzueta said.
The tunnel has a lighting, ventilation and pumping system to keep seeping water
out.
John Fernandes of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego said
the sheer scale and construction of the tunnel indicated that it was likely
built by Mexico's drug trafficking cartels.
"It's a vast and sophisticated tunnel. We know it's used for drug
trafficking, obviously, but ... this tunnel truly illustrates the dangers, the
risks of the security and safety concerns of the American public."
The US-Mexican border -- that stretches from San Diego on the West coast to
the Gulf of Mexico, across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas -- is
notoriously porous and the focus of US security concerns, as well as a backlash
by US conservatives who say the US government is not doing enough to bar
illegals.
Under public and political pressure, US authorities have stepped up efforts
to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the desert border, while a group of
US citizen vigilantes known as "Minutemen" began patrolling the border last
year.
But the extra scrutiny and enhanced security measures implemented since
September 2001 have forced drug smugglers to go underground and use tunnels to
get their wares into the United States, authorities said.
The Mexican drug cartels have spent millions of dollars in the last 15 years
to find ways of moving contraband across the border into the lucrative US
market.
A number of tunnels have been detected under the border in recent months by a
special ICE tunnel task force, including four in the San Diego area this month
alone.
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