Measuring more than 730 metres in length and upwards of just three feet in diameter, it boasts its own rail, ventilation and lighting systems, as well as a lift linking the tunnel to its Mexican exit point - a closet inside a house in Tijuana.
The U.S. exit is a hole on a commercial property in an Otay Mesa industrial park, about 450 metres north of the border. It had been hidden from view by a jumbo-sized industrial bin.
Officials confiscated more than a tonne of cocaine, making it the single largest cocaine seizure ever from a Southern California tunnel. More than six tonnes of marijuana was also found.
Six people were arrested in San Diego on Friday and charged with various drug trafficking and tunnel-related offences, including conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and conspiracy to use a border tunnel.
Hunter Davis, Director of Air Operations for Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations, said: “This case is a strong reminder of the vulnerabilities that exist along the Southwest border.
“Drug trafficking organizations continue to jeopardise our National Security in exchange for profit.”
This is the 13th large-scale operational drug smuggling tunnel discovered along the California border since 2006.
YahooNews
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