Drug smuggling tunnel the length of six football pitches found between San Diego and Tijuana

A major drug smuggling tunnel the length of six football pitches has been discovered running between the US and Mexico.

The secret passage from Tijuana to San Diego featured rail and ventilation systems, electricity and reinforced walls, authorities said.

US federal agents discovered the tunnel, measuring about four feet wide, on Friday when they raided a nondescript warehouse on a street near San Diego’s Otay Mesa crossing. It ran a third of a mile to Tijuana.

Authorities seized 799kg of cocaine, 75kg of meth and 1.6kg of heroin in connection with the investigation.

Six people, ages 31 to 55, were charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine.

Authorities have found about 15 sophisticated tunnels on California’s border with Mexico since 2006.

Many tunnels, including the one announced yesterday, are in the Otay Mesa industrial area, where clay-like soil is conducive to digging and warehouses provide cover.

The cross-border passages date back to the early 1990s and have been used primarily to smuggle multi-ton loads of marijuana. The US Drug Enforcement Administration said in 2020 that they are associated with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel.