Drug Bust Uncovers 1,800-Foot Tunnel

25-ton seizure is one of the largest in San Diego history
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 4, 2010 8:50 AM CDT
Drug Bust Uncovers 1,800-Foot Tunnel
A federal agent crawls through a 600 yard tunnel found in a warehouse along the border between the United States and Mexico on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010, in San Diego.   (AP Photo/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

US officials seized more than 25 tons of marijuana from drug warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana after finding a 1,800-foot tunnel linking the two. The lighted, ventilated tunnel—which is about six football fields long—was discovered after officials found 10 tons of marijuana in a suspicious tractor-trailer, then another 10 to 15 tons in the warehouse from which the vehicle came. The marijuana seized, worth an estimated $20 million or more, is one of the largest amounts in San Diego history, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 4-foot-high, 3-foot-wide tunnel linked the warehouse to one in Tijuana; four tons of marijuana were seized there. About 75 such tunnels have been found in the last four years. Though this one is not the longest, it is one of the few that was fully operational when discovered. It’s not yet clear who owned the drugs, but “I can promise you there are some very unhappy people in the cartel,” says one official. Click here to read about the recent seizure of 105 tons of marijuana. (More marijuana stories.)

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