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  1. #1
    Senior Member stevetheroofer's Avatar
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    America's Third War: Uncovering Border Tunnels

    Immigration
    America's Third War: Uncovering Border Tunnels

    By William Lajeunesse

    Published November 23, 2010

    A federal agent crawls through a 600-yard tunnel found in a warehouse, along the border between the US and Mexico, San Diego.

    A federal agent crawls through a 600-yard tunnel found in a warehouse, along the border between the US and Mexico, San Diego.

    Scores of trucks pass through Otay Mesa, California, each day, loading and dropping off cargo at various warehouses located just yards from the U.S.-Mexico border.

    One warehouse bearing the name "Medi Int Enterprises" -- an alleged storage facility for toilet paper -- seemed to be running business as usual, equipped with a front desk and receptionist. Yet, on Nov. 3, 2010, Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents found they were storing much more than bathroom supplies.

    ICE agents intercepted a truck leaving the warehouse and discovered 20,000 pounds of marijuana. An additional 32,000 pounds were found in 10-kilo bricks throughout the warehouse, making it the second largest seizure of marijuana in U.S. history. But, the biggest find was what lurked below.

    Agents found 1,800 feet of tunnel running underneath the warehouse to Mexico. Designed with tracks and pulleys, the smuggling tunnel is the most recent to be discovered in a growing number popping up along border states.

    Since Sept. 2001, 113 tunnels have been discovered -- a 63 percent increase in just the last two years. ICE agent Tim Durst said they are becoming an increasing threat with the “growing presence of law enforcement above ground.â€
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  2. #2
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    Use of Drug Smuggling Tunnels Up

    Updated: Thursday, 25 Nov 2010, 8:31 PM MST
    Published : Thursday, 25 Nov 2010, 8:08 PM MST

    SAN DIEGO - For years, drug smugglers mainly snuck their goods across the border by air, by foot, or by sea. But now, criminals are changing the game by going underground.

    There's a rise in drug tunnels, and that's especially dangerous because they are hard for agents to detect.

    Last year, agents discovered a massive tunnel near San Diego, under the U.S.-Mexico border. Just three weeks later, they found another just a mile away, and with it -- 32 tons of marijuana.

    Outside, the warehouse looked like any other along the border, and a receptionist completed the facade of a legitimate business. But inside, boxes labeled as paper towels were packed with pot.

    Based on a tip, ICE agents raided the warehouse three weeks ago. In a corner, concealed under a wood cabinet, a trap door led to a tunnel.

    That tunnel was a quarter-mile long, and 70 feet deep in some parts.

    "The tunnel is basically is the proverbial golden goose that can continue to lay golden eggs if it is completed," says Tim Dunst from the San Diego Tunnel Task Force.

    Mexicans working for the Sinaloa Cartel spent a year on this tunnel. It cost about $1 million to build. The sound of trucks and traffic overhead concealed the noise of their jackhammers and concrete saws, as they bored through the soft but stable clay.

    On the U.S. side the tunnel is pretty narrow, but it was equipped with electricity and ventilation ducts so smugglers could work around the clock. But what made the tunnel unique -- steel tracks nailed in the bedrock. A specially built sled, powered by a car battery, carried huge bundles of pot from one side to the other.

    "There have been 113 tunnels discovered. So there has been a significant increase in illicit tunneling activity," says Dunst.

    Between California and Texas, the number of tunnels located across the border is up by 62 percent the last two years.

    While robots help check tunnels for safety, detection devices, so far, are unable to find the tunnels that are still under construction.

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