Suspected drug passageway found near border

By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 10:28 p.m.

TIJUANA — The Mexican Army on Saturday announced the discovery of a suspected smuggling tunnel east of the San Ysidro border crossing in Colonia Libertad.

The passageway is 500 feet long, more than a yard wide and 2 1/2 feet high, according to a statement from the Second Military Zone. An anonymous call about suspicious activity near the tunnel’s entrance led soldiers and municipal police to the passageway, the statement said.

Two suspects, one a minor, were arrested. The other was identified as Gilberto Perez Espinoza, 41.

Mexican media first reported the structure’s discovery on Friday, publishing photographs of Mexican soldiers guarding what appears to be a large drainage pipe that pierces the border fence. The military statement offered few details about the passageway, and it was unclear whether it was in use.

In recent years, authorities have found many tunnels of varying sizes and sophistication that are used to smuggle drugs and people into the United States.

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