Investigators on the multi-agency San Diego Tunnel Task Force uncovered a drug tunnel running from a warehouse in an Otay Mesa industrial park, beneath the border, to a warehouse more than 400 yards away in Tijuana, Mexico.[1] The passageway plunged more than 20 feet from the warehouse floor, measured four by three feet, and was fitted with structural supports, electricity and ventilation.[1] The discovery on Tuesday 15 November 2011 was announced the next day as one of the most significant secret drug smuggling passages ever found on the US-Mexico border.[2]
After agents saw a small cargo truck leaving the warehouse, they pulled it over and found about three tons of marijuana inside; two men seen leaving the warehouse in the truck were arrested on a highway in suburban La Mesa after a highway patrol officer was overwhelmed by the smell.[2][1] On the strength of the truck stop, agents obtained a warrant and recovered nearly six and a half more tons in the Otay Mesa warehouse, while Mexican authorities seized a further five to six tons at the Tijuana end.[1]
The seized packages were marked with Captain America, Sprite and Bud Light labels, codes identifying their owners.[2] The find came a year after raids on two San Diego-Tijuana tunnels netted a combined 50 tons of marijuana, two of the largest pot busts in US history.[2]
