A "sophisticated" 183-foot (56-meter) long tunnel dug by a drug trafficking organization was found in the Mexican border city of Mexicali, Baja California state, by special agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE, for its acronym in English), in conjunction with Mexican authorities, as reported on Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, for its acronym in English).
ICE National Security Investigations (HSI) agents and Mexican authorities discovered last week the tunnel, about four by three feet (1.22 by 0.91 meters) inside a residence near the international border, about 22 feet (6.7 meters) below the surface.
[Border agents discover the "most sophisticated tunnel in history" between the United States and Mexico]
The hole, which has an entrance of 12 by 10 feet (3.7 by 3 meters), extends about three feet (0.91 meters) further north of the border, but has no exit from the US side.
It is equipped with electricity, ventilation, a rail system with a forklift, and an electric forklift, according to ICE.
Photograph provided by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) that shows an area of a sophisticated underground tunnel found by authorities in California, near the US-Mexico border.
“I congratulate the ICE special agents who worked with their Mexican counterparts to discover this tunnel. Closing these tunnels is critical to stopping drug trafficking organizations and ensuring that illicit goods do not enter the United States, ”said Alejandro Mayorkas, head of the DHS, in a bulletin.
"These types of tunnels
allow drug traffickers to carry out practically undetectable illicit activities
across the border between the United States and Mexico," said Cardell Morant, special agent in charge of HSI in San Diego, California, quoted in the statement.
["I saw how they cooked your brother." This is how kitchens work where drug traffickers disappear their victims]
Morant added that "discovering and closing these tunnels deals a severe blow to drug trafficking organizations because it denies them the ability to smuggle drugs, weapons and people across the border."
The text indicated that this is an ongoing investigation that has the assistance of the Border Patrol in the El Centro sector and the Government of Mexico.
Citizens can anonymously report suspicious activity to the Tunnel Task Force at 1-877-988-6635.