Officials discover cross-border tunnel

By CHELCEY ADAMI

Imperial Valley Press

1:00 a.m. PST, March 10, 2011

Mexican army officials Tuesday found a tunnel measuring about 100 feet in length that extends about 10 feet into the United States.

Located roughly 2 1/2 miles east of the Calexico East Port of Entry, the tunnel appears to have tapped into an underground pipe receiving drainage from a nearby Mexican reservoir, said Lauren Mack, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement public information officer.

This is usually done in order to use the drainage system for transport of drugs, Mack said.

The tunnel had oxygen tanks, generators and two 8-kilogram packages of marijuana inside, said Gilberto Landeros, commander of the Mexican army’s Second Military Zone.

“The next step is to make sure we close up any breach through which they could enter the U.S.,â€