US federal agents have uncovered a sophisticated “narco tunnel” equipped with electricity and a working ventilation system that smugglers had been using between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico.
Homeland Security Investigations EL Paso said the man-made tunnel, which is about 4 feet wide and 6-feet high, burrowed into El Paso’s Boone Street storm-drain system, which is located just a few blocks from the border, KTSM reported.
Shocking video from inside the tunnel, which was enforced with only wood beams, shows its sprawling path beneath the border that smugglers used to transport people and drugs in and out of the US.
HSI said its agents are investigating the tunnel and vowed to arrest those who created and used the underground facility, which appears to have been constructed in the past year.
“Transnational criminal organizations mistakenly think they can avoid detection by moving people and contraband underground,” HSI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason Stevens said in a statement.
“This recent discovery is a significant blow to their operations as it highlights our capability to disrupt their sophisticated smuggling networks,” he added.
Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Anthony Good praised the agents who first uncovered the tunnel Friday morning after removing a metal plate hiding its 3-foot-by-3-foot entry hole near the border.
Good said the discovery by Homeland Security and Border Patrol was a result of regular probes around the border, with the El Paso border chief also slamming the use of such a dangerous path that could put lives in danger.
“With our partners, we are committed to investigating these illicit activities and bringing all the perpetrators to justice — those who endanger lives in these hazardous environments and circumvent the legal pathways into the United States,” Good said.
The discovery of the El Paso tunnel comes after border officials found their third smuggling tunnel at the Arizona-Mexico border area.
US and Mexican officials have worked together to take down these suspected “narco tunnels” into the US, with the Arizona tunnel discovered while it was still under construction in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico.
The largest known drug tunnel between the US was uncovered in 2020, with the tunnel stretching three-quarters of a mile between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, Calif.
That tunnel was even equipped with a rail system and elevator, according to US Customs and Border Protection.
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