The tunnel, originating from the Mexican border city of Tijuana,
is about eight football fields in length, with the last quarter-mile
crossing U.S. territory before ending beneath a carpet warehouse in
the busy Otay Mesa industrial district of San Diego, U.S. and
Mexican officials said.
The tunnel was uncovered through intelligence gathered by U.S.
federal agents who infiltrated a Mexican drug-smuggling ring during
the past six months, according to Laura Duffy, the U.S. Attorney in
San Diego.
It marked the 10th subterranean passageway from Mexico to Otay Mesa
discovered since 2002. Like those and dozens of others found along
the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border in the last decade, the
latest tunnel was equipped with lighting, ventilation and a rail
system for moving goods, authorities said.
Two Mexican government security officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity, told Reuters the latest passage belonged to the
Guzman-led Sinaloa drug cartel.
Duffy said U.S. officials were less certain that Sinaloa was behind
the new tunnel, based on the comparatively unfinished, dangerous
nature of the tunnel shaft on the U.S. side.
"We usually see ladders going down and staircases," she said. "This
particular tunnel drops 32 to 35 feet straight down." Duffy said
U.S. federal agents moved to seize control of the tunnel on its
north end on Wednesday after a shipment of 2 tons of marijuana
arrived there, and six men were arrested, two of whom were to be
arraigned on federal drug-smuggling charges on Thursday.
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Mexican agents seized 10 tons of marijuana awaiting shipment through
the passage at the Tijuana side, and authorities expect to find more
contraband when a thorough search of the tunnel is made, Duffy said.
Guzman, the world's most wanted drug trafficker, escaped in July
from a Mexican maximum-security prison through a mile-long tunnel
that surfaced right inside his cell.
His escape sparked a massive manhunt, and Mexico's government said
on Friday that Guzman had suffered injuries to his face and leg
after recently beating a hasty retreat from security forces.
(Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Writing by
Steve Gorman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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