A 600-meter-long tunnel equipped with electricity, ventilation and a rail system for transporting drugs – used to transport cocaine worth over $45 million – was discovered on the border between the US state of California and Mexico, US authorities announced, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Dug about 17 meters underground, the tunnel has reinforced walls and a hydraulic freight elevator, the US Department of Justice said in a statement published on Monday.
It connects the Mexican city of Tijuana to a warehouse in San Diego, near the US-Mexico border wall.
An investigation conducted from December to May led to the seizure of more than a ton of cocaine that passed through the tunnel, as well as the arrest of four drug traffickers.
Authorities say the operation has dealt a serious blow to the Mexican cartel “Jalisco – New Generation“. They say the tunnel is extremely well-built and technically sophisticated. Videos released by the Justice Department show stairs and well-shaped steps between the stone walls.
Since 1993, 99 underground passages have been discovered in Southern California, the Justice Department says. The last such discovery was made in 2022.