Sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel with own rail system discovered

Authorities seized eight-and-a-half tons of marijuana and 327 pounds of cocaine in connection with the tunnel’s discovery, according to court records.

Three men who authorities say worked as drivers were charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine with intent to distribute. They face prison sentences between 10 years and life if convicted.

The tunnel, which zigzags the length of nearly six football fields, links warehouses in Tijuana and San Diego’s Otay Mesa industrial area. The area is filled with nondescript warehouses, making it easier to conceal trucks being loaded with drugs.

The tunnel was shut down before any drugs made it through undetected, authorities said. Federal agents had the San Diego warehouse under surveillance after being tipped off by an informant who told them that operators bought drills and other construction equipment.

As US border security has heightened on land, Mexican drug cartels have turned to ultralight aircraft, small fishing boats and tunnels. More than 75 underground passages have been discovered along the border.

The tunnels are concentrated around California and Arizona. San Diego is popular because its clay-like soil is easy to dig. In Nogales, Arizona, smugglers tap into vast underground drainage canals.

The tunnel is the eighth major passage discovered in San Diego since 2006, a period during which Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel has solidified its hold on the prized smuggling corridor.

n Canada’s border services agency has stumbled upon three Halloween pumpkins in a woman’s luggage at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal stuffed with approximately two kilograms of cocaine. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have taken over the investigation.