'Drug smuggling' tunnel connecting Mexico to US discovered

Border patrol agents discovered an underground tunnel connecting a residence in Tijuana to the San Diego area, which authorities said was being built to smuggle narcotics across the border undetected.
Agents assigned to the San Diego Sector Tunnel Team, part of the U.S. Border Patrol operation, found the "drug smuggling" tunnel while it was being actively constructed in early April, according to a June 18 news release from Customs and Border Protection. When they entered the tunnel, they discovered a "highly sophisticated" system with electrical wiring, lights and a track "designed for transporting large quantities of contraband," the release said.
In total, the tunnel spanned 2,918 feet, or just over half a mile, and reached more than 1,000 feet into U.S. territory, the release said. It was about 42 inches in height, 28 inches in width and approximately 50 feet underground at its deepest point, officials said. Inside the tunnel were makeshift barricades and at its end point in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood, Mexican authorities discovered the entrance had been recently tiled over.
Photos shared by the agency show the inside of the tunnel with stone walls and a metal track system. One photo showed an agent crawling along the track on their stomach.
"As we continue to strengthen the nation's air, and maritime border security, it's not surprising that foreign terrorist organizations would resort to underground routes,' Jeffrey D. Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego Sector, said in the statement. "Disruption of narcotics smuggling tunnels is critical to protecting American lives."
Trump and the fentanyl crisis: Will his plan work?
Smuggling tunnels have been found before
It's not the first time agents have discovered underground tunnels meant for smuggling contraband, according to CBP: Since 1995, authorities have found more than 95 tunnels in the San Diego area. This one will be filled with thousands of gallons of concrete, CBP said.
In 2020, border patrol agents found what they described at the time as the longest of its kind ever discovered along the Southwest border, the Palm Springs Desert Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. It was 4,309 feet long, or over three-quarters of a mile, and connected Tijuana to the Otay Mesa warehouse district, CBP said. It had an elevator, an extensive track system and forced-air ventilation.
The same year, agents seized 4,400 pounds of illicit drugs from another over 2,000-foot tunnel between Mexico and the San Diego area, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said at the time.

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