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http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-16106-tunnel.html

Feds Seal Smuggling Tunnel At Mexican Border

POSTED: 8:15 am PDT May 3, 2006
UPDATED: 8:41 am PDT May 3, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities on Tuesday began the process of permanently sealing a sophisticated, 2,400-foot smuggling tunnel discovered beneath the U.S.-Mexico border in the Otay Mesa area near Tijuana last winter.

A contractor hired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security excavated a small section of the underground passageway and poured in concrete Wednesday morning, plugging it near where it crosses the border.

Workers eventually will fill in the entire tunnel, one of the largest ever uncovered at the boundary of the two nations.

When investigators found the concrete-lined subterranean shaft on Jan. 25, about two tons of marijuana was piled in the tunnel, which was outfitted with electric lights and a ventilation system.

One end was about 85 feet below a small warehouse near Tijuana's airport, and the other was underneath an industrial structure in the far southern reaches of San Diego. The passage bore the hallmarks of Mexican drug cartels, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The illicit passageway was a safety hazard as well as a security threat, said Miguel Unzueta, special agent in charge of ICE's office of investigations in San Diego. "But while the tunnel is being closed, I want to emphasize that our investigation is still very much open and ongoing," Unzueta said.

Facing federal prosecution in connection with the case is 44-year-old Carlos Eugenio Cardenas-Calvillo, who worked at the Otay Mesa building that concealed the U.S. end of the tunnel. He has been charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance