The Warehouse That Hid a 600-Yard Drug Tunnel

A scene depicting an industrial warehouse and underground tunnel discovered during a drug-smuggling investigation. (Digital Illustration: GoBeyondLocal)

The Warehouse That Hid a 600-Yard Drug Tunnel

The warehouse in Otay Mesa looked like one of many industrial buildings near the San Diego border.

Investigators had been watching activity around the building since May 2011. Their attention focused on movements involving a tractor-trailer leaving the warehouse.

The vehicle gave investigators a reason to take a closer look at what was happening inside.

The investigation involved several law enforcement agencies examining activity around the warehouse. Investigators followed the tractor-trailer after it left the building and observed a shipment being delivered to another warehouse in the City of Industry.

A search warrant followed.

Inside the City of Industry warehouse, investigators found marijuana. The investigation also connected drug shipments with locations in San Diego and Tijuana.

One discovery, however, was hidden below the industrial building in Otay Mesa.

Beneath the warehouse floor was an underground passage extending towards Mexico. The tunnel ran for approximately 612 yards between San Diego and Tijuana.

Its discovery revealed a route designed to move large quantities of drugs beneath the international border.

The passage had been engineered with features that allowed people and goods to move through it. Electric rail cars ran along the tunnel, while lighting and ventilation provided conditions for movement underground.

Wooden flooring and reinforced sections formed part of the passage, while an elevator provided access on the Mexican side.

The Mexican entrance was located inside another warehouse near Tijuana International Airport. On the United States side, the passage opened inside the Otay Mesa industrial area.

Two warehouses in different countries were connected by a route hidden beneath the border.

The investigation led to six arrests, including two truck drivers. Federal authorities accused those arrested of involvement in a drug-smuggling conspiracy.

The seizures extended across three locations. About four tons of marijuana were found in the Tijuana warehouse, about 17 tons in San Diego and another 11 tons in the City of Industry.

The combined amount exceeded 32 tons of marijuana.

Investigators also documented the tunnel itself, including the rail system, lighting, ventilation, reinforced construction and elevator access.

What had appeared above ground as an industrial warehouse had concealed an underground passage hundreds of yards long. The tunnel connected the warehouse in Otay Mesa with another warehouse across the border in Tijuana.

Authorities seized the drugs and shut down the underground route.