Investigators Discover Massive Tunnel Between US and Mexico Likely Used to Smuggle Illicit Items

Law enforcement officials in Mexico recently uncovered a sprawling tunnel near the Tijuana-San Diego border that is believed to have been used to traffic illegal items in and out of the country.

According to NBC7 in San Diego, law enforcement was carrying out a search warrant in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood on Saturday, May 30, when they discovered a massive wood-lined tunnel that is “approximately 265 meters long and 6.30 meters deep, or about 869 feet long and 21 feet deep.”

In a video obtained by NBC News, the tunnel is seen to include lighting, ventilation as well as a sliding mechanism that can quickly usher a person or a payload of items from one end to the other. Investigators on the US side of the border have not revealed where, or if, the tunnel lets out in San Diego.

“Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego, in coordination with our Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) partners, are conducting a criminal enforcement operation involving a cross-border subterranean tunnel in Otay Mesa, CA,” a Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson told NBC 7. “To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and ensure the safety of all involved, we are unable [to] provide additional details at this time.”

In addition to the tunnel, the outlet reports officials with the Mexican Navy, who participated in the initial raid, seized ammunition, three cell phones, bank cards, a DVR device and 24 doses of methamphetamine.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office says the tunnel was likely functioning to traffic drugs, weapons, explosives and other illicit substances into San Diego.