‘Longest ever’ drug-smuggling tunnel discovered at U.S.-Mexico border, CBP says

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a video taken in November 2019 that showed an illegal tunnel at the U.S.-Mexico border. (The Washington Post)

By Kim Bellware @ WashingtonPost.com, Jan. 30

Hidden 70 feet beneath a small industrial building in Tijuana, Mexico, lays a long and sophisticated passageway — complete with a railway, plumbing and ventilation system. It stretches the length of almost 12 football fields, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Mexican narcotics traffickers had used the tunnel to smuggle drugs across the border, into an industrial area of San Diego.

CBP officials announced the discovery of the passageway Wednesday and called it the “longest ever” smuggling tunnel discovered at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I am thrilled that this high level narco-tunnel has been discovered and will be rendered unusable for cross-border smuggling,” Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Aaron M. Heitke said in a statement.

Smuggling tunnels are commonly used by transnational drug trafficking outfits, though CBP officials said it was still unclear when the tunnel was last used and by whom [....]