‘Fully operational’ cross-border drug tunnel found in Tijuana-San Diego area

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Tijuana police and members of Mexico’s National Guard discovered a drug tunnel late Saturday, calling it “fully operational.”

The tunnel’s exit point on the U.S. side is located inside an industrial warehouse just east of the commercial side of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and about 200 yards north of the border.

Members of the U.S. Border Tunnel Task Force are conducting the investigation on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

This group of investigators is made up of agents from various law enforcement agencies throughout San Diego County, including the U.S. Border Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, San Diego Sheriff’s Department, and San Diego Police Department.

According to police in Tijuana, the tunnel was being used for running drugs into the U.S., and other “illicit activities.”

Agents on the U.S. side of the border declined to comment on the tunnel or what they had found so far, though they did promise that more information about the tunnel would be made public Monday morning.

Including the tunnel found last night, almost 90 drug tunnels have been located between San Diego and Tijuana since 2009, with almost 200 throughout the southern border.

Most of the tunnels discovered have been equipped with extensive lighting and ventilation systems, rails and pulleys to move illegal merchandise across the border.