Thread: Mexican authorities barge in on tunnel operation

Mexican authorities barge in on tunnel operation
Sept. 2, 2008 05:45 PM
Los Angeles Times
SAN DIEGO - Mexican authorities have arrested eight men after discovering a sophisticated tunnel, believed to be designed to ferry drugs, that nearly reached into U.S. territory.

Baja California state preventive police said Tuesday they were acting on a tip when they raided a Mexicali home Monday afternoon and found some of the suspects hard at work in the passage that stretched more than a football field in length.

The tunnel's destination appeared to be a residential neighborhood across the border in Calexico. The tunnel, which had not crossed into U.S. territory, appeared to be well-financed and expertly constructed.
It had a rail and cart system, ventilation, lighting and an electric lift to transport items up and down the shaft, authorities said. "What they had constructed was very sophisticated," said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose agents inspected the tunnel.

Numerous drug tunnels have been discovered over the years in the Mexicali-Calexico area, where some cross-border neighborhoods lie only a stone's throw from each other.

The tunnel discovered on Monday started in a neatly-kept fenced home near downtown Mexicali. The suspects apparently were caught off guard.

Mexican authorities said they do not know who was behind the tunnel. Such passages, which can cost more than a million dollars to build, are typically financed by powerful drug smuggling operations.

The suspects told authorities that a man would visit the house monthly to pay the work crew, but that he hid his identity with a ski mask, according to Agustin Perez, the spokesman for Baja California's secretary of public security.


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 02-ON.html

The suspects told authorities that a man would visit the house monthly to pay the work crew, but that he hid his identity with a ski mask, according to Agustin Perez, the spokesman for Baja California's secretary of public security.

Is the skiing any good in Mexico?
Sorry, I couldn't resist that and want to congratulate the Mexican authorities for helping stop some of the lunacy of cross-border smuggling.

Related Earlier Thread at
http://www.alipac.us/ftopic-130325-0.html

Mexico would benefit by the addition of many more tunnels but they should be for irrigation not illegal migration.