On Nov. 3, 2010, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton, joined by U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Border Patrol, announced the discovery of a cross-border drug smuggling tunnel. Tunnels like this can be used to smuggle multiple types of contraband ranging from drugs to weapons, which makes them a public safety threat.
The investigation went like so...
Twenty-four hours earlier, a tractor trailer pulls up to a warehouse in San Diego. Nearby agents observe suspicious activity. They keep the vehicle under close surveillance as it departs the warehouse. The vehicle approaches a traffic checkpoint in Temecula where Border Patrol agents stop the vehicle for inspection. Inside, they find more than 10 tons of marijuana.
From there, the San Diego Tunnel Task Force, comprised of representatives from ICE, CBP and the DEA, obtain a federal search warrant for the San Diego warehouse. Task force members find an estimated 15 tons of marijuana there.
They alert the Mexican military which determines that drug smugglers have been accessing the warehouse from an underground tunnel that originates 600 yards away in a Tijuana warehouse. There, the Mexican military recover another five tons of marijuana -- bringing the grand total to approximately 30 tons.
"This discovery again shows their [cartels] growing desperation in the face of heightened border security," said Morton. "Frustrated by our defenses, they're literally going underground, but we're thwarting them there as well. That's due in no small part to the extraordinary ongoing enforcement efforts involving the agencies on the Tunnel Task Force and our counterparts in Mexico."
Learn more about ICE's role in narcotics enforcement.
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