U.S. law enforcement officials discovered a major drug-smuggling tunnel near the US-Mexico border in California on Friday.
The subterranean passageway, stretching from Tijuana, Mexico to a warehouse in Otay Mesa just east of the Port of Entry, is estimated to be about 1,744 feet long, 61 feet deep, and 4-feet in diameter, with reinforced walls, a rail system, electricity and a ventilation system, authorities said.
As part of the bust, 1,762 pounds of cocaine, 164 pounds of methamphetamine and 3.5 pounds of heroin were recovered.
Six people were charged with cocaine trafficking, and two of those six were also charged with meth and heroin trafficking, authorities said.
According to the federal complaint, at about 11:45 a.m., officials observed as Olmos and Ramirez drove away from that National City residence in a silver Nissan Frontier pickup truck to Harbor Freight Tools store in Chula Vista, where they retrieved large cardboard boxes from a dumpster and put them into the pickup truck.
The women then entered the Harbor Freight Tools store and purchased wheeled carts that are typically used to move heavy items, the complaint said. They later returned to the residence in the pickup truck and removed the boxes from the back of the pick-up bed and carried them inside the residence. At about 1:20 p.m., Olmos left the residence and drove to a Walmart store, where she purchased additional cardboard boxes and transported them back to the residence.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Ramirez drove the pickup away from the residence to a warehouse located at 9986 Via De La Amistad, Unit A, in San Diego. The warehouse is approximately 300 feet north of the U.S.-Mexico border fence.
Ramirez drove the pickup into the bay of the warehouse and the roll-up door was shut immediately after. At approximately 4:40 p.m., the warehouse door opened. Ramirez exited the warehouse in the pickup and drove back to the residence with law enforcement conducting surveillance.
In the hours that followed, law enforcement officials saw five other cars come and go from either the residence, the warehouse or both. Those vehicles were ultimately stopped by law enforcement, drugs were seized from the vehicles and the residence, and defendants associated with the cars and or residence were arrested.
Upon searching the warehouse, agents uncovered the sophisticated cross-border tunnel exit point carved out of the cement floor.
“There is no more light at the end of this narco-tunnel,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will take down every subterranean smuggling route we find to keep illicit drugs from reaching our streets and destroying our families and communities.”
Grossman thanked the prosecution team, HSI San Diego Costa Pacifico Money Laundering Task Force, and its partners from the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Customs and Border Protection for their excellent work on this case. “This tunnel was discovered because of the patience and tenacity of federal agents who are passionate about protecting their communities from the scourge of drug addiction and related violence.”
“The San Diego law enforcement community has multiple investigative task forces that highly prioritize tunnel detection- exemplified by this tunnel discovery by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego led Costa Pacifico Money Laundering Task Force,” said HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “The San Diego law enforcement community throughout the years has consistently shown its ability to detect and remediate tunnels while bringing those responsible to justice.”
There have been 90 subterranean passages discovered in the Southern District of California since 1993. Of those, 27 were considered sophisticated. The last tunnel discovered in the Southern District of California was in March 2020.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill Burkhardt, the Attorney’s office said.
According to the Attorney’s office, the discovery of the tunnel resulted from an ongoing investigation by members of the San Diego Costa Pacifico Money Laundering Task Force, which include Homeland Security Investigations, San Diego Sheriff’s Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the United States Attorney’s Office.
(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California)
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