A tunnel said to be equipped with lighting, ventilation and a sliding mechanism was found near the Otay Mesa port of entry, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office said on Sunday.
The tunnel was discovered on Saturday when Mexican authorities executed a search warrant at a home in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood of Tijuana, which is located close to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mexican officials said in a news release that the Tijuana location was possibly used as a “hub for the storage, logistics, and trafficking of weapons, explosives, and illicit substances.”
A U.S. Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said on Sunday that special agents with HSI in San Diego, in coordination with the Homeland Security Task Force, “are conducting a criminal enforcement operation involving a cross-border subterranean tunnel in Otay Mesa, CA.”
“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and ensure the safety of all involved, we are unable provide additional details at this time,” the spokesperson added.
Mexican authorities seized 24 doses of methamphetamine, a bag of marijuana, four cartridges, three cellphones, bank cards, a wallet, and various forms of identification from the Tijuana home, the Mexican Navy Secretariat, which was part of the operation, said on Sunday.
Mexican officials called the operation “a direct blow to the operation, transport routes, and logistics schemes used for drug trafficking.”
On the Mexican side, the tunnel was found near the location where a “highly sophisticated” passageway was discovered last year. Other cross-border tunnels have been found in the surrounding area earlier.
Read more Homeless outreach goes from HOT to HEART in Oceanside
