Thread: DEA finds tunnel in Calexico area

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexi ... crime.html

DEA finds tunnel in Calexico area

UNION-TRIBUNE
September 16, 2006

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced last night that it has discovered a tunnel under the U.S.-Mexico border in Imperial County that apparently was used for smuggling drugs.

The 400-foot tunnel reaches between a residence in Calexico and a residence in Mexicali, Mexico, said John S. Fernandes, DEA special agent in charge.

It is about 20 feet underground, equipped with lighting and bolstered with wooden beams every few feet. It is accessed with a ladder.

The DEA was uncertain what group was using the tunnel, he said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Border Patrol and the Calexico Police Department helped in the investigation.

–David E. Graham



http://washingtontimes.com/national/200 ... -6614r.htm

Cross-border drug tunnel found
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published September 19, 2006

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U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in San Diego yesterday announced the discovery of a cross-border drug-smuggling tunnel beneath a private residence in Calexico, Calif., that extended nearly 400 feet to a house in Mexicali, Mexico.

The tunnel, which ran 20 feet underground and was accessible by a ladder, was equipped with lighting and supported by wooden beams every few feet, said John S. Fernandes, DEA special agent in charge.

"Today's discovery is yet more evidence of the desperation that drug traffickers are feeling as law enforcement efforts continue to impede the flow of drugs into the U.S.," Mr. Fernandes said.

The tunnel was the focus of an investigation by DEA agents, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Calexico Police Department.

A Border Patrol special-response team entered the Calexico residence and also secured the tunnel.

While the agency said it would continue to work as a team with DEA and ICE to "bring down anyone involved in using tunnels to smuggle terrorists and their weapons of mass destruction," there was no indication the tunnel had been used for anything but drugs.

"Whether they are designed to smuggle drugs, people, weapons or other contraband, these tunnels pose a threat to our nation's security," said Miguel Unzueta, special agent in charge for ICE investigations in San Diego.

DEA spokesman Garrison K. Courtney said it wasn't clear who was responsible for this tunnel, although the agency said it obviouslywas not the effort of one person.

"A tunnel is an enormous undertaking, and those responsible are now on notice. We have found the hole, and the DEA is now looking for you," Mr. Fernandes said.

At least 39 tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border have been discovered by authorities since the September 11 attacks, the vast majority in and around San Diego and Nogales, Ariz.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has asked the Mexican government to enact legislation to criminalize the construction or financing of border tunnels between the United States and Mexico. Led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, the lawmakers urged the Mexican officials to enact legislation to crack down on those involved.

In March, Mrs. Feinstein introduced a bill to prohibit the unauthorized construction or financing of, or permitting on one's land the construction or use of, a tunnel or subterranean passageway between the United States and another country. It has since been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The senators said they were concerned tunnels could also be used to smuggle weapons and terrorists into the United States.

The January discovery of the largest and most sophisticated illegal cross-border underpass Mexican and U.S. authorities said they had ever found prompted the request to Mexican authorities.

Equipped with a pulley and ventilation system, the tunnel was 6 feet wide and 12 feet high. It had a cement floor and lights.

http://publicbroadcasting.net/kpbs/news ... ectionID=1

Arrest made in connection with Calexico border tunnel

Amy Isackson




KPBS SAN DIEGO (2006-09-18) Drug Enforcement Agents have made an arrest in connection with a 400-foot long tunnel discovered under the U.S. Mexico border in Calexico. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has details.

The tunnel runs from a back bedroom in a Calexico house under the border and pops up in the bedroom of a house in Mexicali. The passageway is about 20 feet underground. It has cement floors and wood paneled walls. The tunnel is equipped with lighting and ventilation systems, and the ceiling is supported by wood beams.

Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Dan Simmons says his agency has not yet linked the tunnel to a drug cartel.

But obviously, a tunnel is a tremendous undertaking. And the very nature of a tunnel speaks to the fact that there must be some sort of organization behind it.

The DEA has arrested Jesus Aguila Agundez in connection with the tunnel. A federal complaint says DEA agents believe Aguila loaded more than one thousand pounds of marijuana into his pickup truck at the Calexico house. Amy Isackson, KPBS News.

http://www.signonsandiego.com

Driver pleads not guilty in border tunnel case


ASSOCIATED PRESS

5:54 p.m. September 18, 2006

EL CENTRO – A man accused of receiving more than a half-ton of marijuana smuggled into the United States from Mexico in a secret cross-border tunnel pleaded not guilty Monday to drug charges.
A criminal complaint in El Centro federal court charges that Jesus Bernardo Aguila Agundez loaded drugs into his truck at a house in Calexico, about 120 miles east of San Diego.

The tunnel allegedly runs 400 feet from a the Calexico house to another house across the border in Mexicali, Mexico. It is about 20 feet underground and is equipped with lighting and supported by wooden beams, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Aguila was charged with one count of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. He was arrested Friday after DEA agents followed his truck from the Calexico house to a nearby swap meet. According to the complaint, agents found 100 packages of marijuana weighing 1,143 pounds concealed under a tarp in the bed of Aguila's blue pickup truck.

The name of Aguila's attorney was not immediately known.

Authorities have discovered about 40 secret tunnels on the U.S.-Mexico border since Sept. 11, 2001, the vast majority in and around San Diego and Nogales, Ariz.