Overview
- U.S. Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector Tunnel Team discovered the incomplete tunnel in early April beneath the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and mapped its nearly 2,918-foot length.
- The passage measured 42 inches high, 28 inches wide and reached about 50 feet underground, with built-in lighting, electrical wiring, ventilation systems and a rail track for moving contraband.
- Authorities located the tunnel entrance hidden beneath freshly laid tile inside a two-story home in Tijuana’s Nueva Tijuana neighborhood and seized an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine.
- No arrests have been reported in connection with the tunnel’s construction or discovery despite coordination between U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations and Mexican security forces.
- The disabled tunnel is one of more than 95 smuggling passages uncovered in the San Diego area since 1993.