Over 4,000 pounds of drugs – worth almost $30 million – found in tunnel near San Diego
Federal agents have uncovered more than 4,000 pounds of drugs hidden in a "sophisticated" tunnel that stretched from Tijuana, Mexico to San Diego, California. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced its San Diego Tunnel Task Force led the massive $30 million drug seizure last month.
Officials said the agents seized about 1,300 pounds of cocaine, 86 pounds of methamphetamine, 17 pounds of heroin, 3,000 pounds of marijuana and more than two pounds of fentanyl smuggled inside the nearly half-mile-long tunnel. The total street value of the drugs is estimated at $29.6 million.
"If cartels keep spending millions of dollars building tunnels, we will keep finding and filling them," said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer in a statement. "This takedown is even more significant in the face of a global pandemic, where stopping the movement of unauthorized people and packages across international borders is of utmost importance."
The drug bust happened on March 19 after agents discovered a 2,000-foot-long underground tunnel that extended from a warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico to one in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, officials said. The tunnel has an average depth of 31 feet and is 3 feet wide through most of the passageway.
Agents estimated the tunnel had been around for several months because of construction in the passageway, which included walls, ventilation, lighting and an underground rail system.
Officials said the seizure of the mixed variety of drugs is the first time in San Diego's history where five different types of drugs were found inside a tunnel.