Border Patrol finds sophisticated underground tunnel
Border Patrol agents arrested a man in a wetsuit with more than 69 lbs. of methamphetamine on Saturday night after they saw four men on the south bank of the All-American Canal near Calexico. But a followup investigation revealed even more after agents discovered scuba diving gear near the narcotics.
On Monday, the Border Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) unit searched the canal where the arrest was made and found a sophisticated cross-border tunnel, which they said is about 230 feet in length with a diameter close to 4-by-4 feet.
The tunnel had lighting and ventilation that travels from a house in Mexico into the United States, agents said in the release.
Mexican authorities were able to find the tunnel’s point of origin in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
“This is outstanding work by the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol, the seizure and discovery of this tunnel is a significant blow to the transnational criminal organizations,” said Chief Patrol Agent Carla L. Provost. “The collaborated efforts by our C-3 partners, in the U.S. and Mexico, exemplify the U.S. governments’ unified front against these criminal organizations who pose a threat to national security.”
Agents said this is the second tunnel found in the Calexico Border Patrol’s area during the fiscal year 2015.
The man who was arrested and the methamphetamine were turned over to the D.E.A. for further investigation.
The three other men agents spotted on Saturday night fled back into Mexico. Agents were operating a Remote Video Surveillance System when they discovered the men around 9:30 p.m.
