Tunnel found under federally guarded area in Mexico

By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Friday, February 12, 2010 at 8:23 a.m.

TIJUANA — The Mexican military has announced the discovery of an illicit tunnel apparently under construction inside the Mexican federal customs area at the Otay Mesa border crossing.

The 15-yard-long tunnel was about 2½ feet tall and 2½ feet wide, according to a statement released late Thursday by Baja California’s Second Military Zone.

The passageway was pointed toward the United States, but it was unclear whether it had pierced the border or had an opening on the U.S. side. In recent months, Mexican authorities have discovered a series of tunnels under construction in the area, but this is the first found inside a federally guarded area.

The tunnels are used to smuggle drugs and people across the border to the United States. Increased collaboration between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies has been key to the discovery of many of the passageways.

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