As authorities in Yuma, Ariz., on Thursday announced the discovery of a significant cross-border drug tunnel, a federal expert on such passageways discussed the significance of the find — as well as the cat-and-mouse game of border drug smuggling.
Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times that 156 tunnels have been uncovered along the United States' southwestern border with Mexico since the early 1990s. Three out of four were discovered after 2001, the majority of which were incomplete.
The new, 240-yard-long tunnel, which had been in use for nearly three months, was a “major” find and included sophisticated work such as electricity and ventilation. Mack characterized the finding of a working tunnel as a better-late-than-never story.
“We have a tunnel task force that has been very proactive on the front,” she said. “Our goal is to find them before they become open for business.” Clever detective work and improved tunnel detection technology have made underground trafficking more difficult, authorities said. But the huge drug quantities heading across the border could also be explained by a surge in marijuana production in Mexico and, in particular, Baja California, where Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel has been expanding its influence.
In farm-growing regions of Baja California, farmers and laborers say the number of clandestine marijuana-growing operations has grown rapidly in recent years, straining water resources but providing more jobs.
