30 Illegal Aliens Detained at Hidden Tunnel Spanning US-Mexico Border
30 Undocumented Immigrants Detained at Hidden Tunnel Spanning US-Mexico Border
The tunnel began in Tijuana and ended on the United States side of the border, near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry
By Monica Garske and Telemundo 20
Thirty undocumented immigrants suspected of trying to cross into the United States from Mexico through a hidden tunnel spanning the border were detained by authorities in San Diego Saturday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agent Eduardo Olmos told NBC 7 that U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted the large group at around 1:30 a.m. near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in south San Diego County, near the border crossing bridge off Britannia Boulevard and Otay Pacific Drive.
When the suspects realized they had been seen by the agents, many of them tried to flee by going back into the mouth of a tunnel that investigators said had been constructed for the purpose of illegally smuggling undocumented immigrants from Mexico into the U.S.
Border agents followed the group and detained several on the surface of the tunnel; others were detained inside the tunnel, officials said.
Olmos said many of the undocumented suspects were Mexican nationals; some were from other unspecified countries. None were from the U.S., Olmos said.
According to investigators, the tunnel began in a building on Calle Mar Barmejo in the Garita de Otay area in Tijuana, approximately 328 feet south of the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego.
Mexican authorities are working the investigation on that side, at the building, trying to determine who is responsible for the build-out and operation of the smuggling tunnel.
On the U.S. side, at least one agent was seen Saturday manning the area where the tunnel let out near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
Olmos said CBP agents would stay in the area as long as needed to aid in the investigation.
As of 4 p.m., Olmos said no drugs had been discovered inside the tunnel.
No further details were immediately released.
Published 56 minutes ago | Updated 35 minutes ago
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