US authorities on Wednesday announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border, stretching more than three-quarters of a mile from an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to the San Diego, United States.
The 4,300ft passage is believed to have been built by El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel.
The tunnel has been discovered since August, but was just recently announced to the public.
The drug-smuggling tunnel which is on average 70ft below ground and almost 6ft high and 2ft wide was reportedly built with a ventilation system, high-voltage power cables, and drainage.
Lance LeNoir, a Border Patrol Operations Supervisor said: “This one blows past (the second-longest), We never really thought they had the moxie to go that far. They continue to surprise me.”
The tunnel raised questions about the effectiveness of President Donald Trump’s border wall, which stretches several feet underground in the area.
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Following the discovery in August, Mexican law enforcement identified the entrance and members of the San Diego Tunnel Task Force began mapping the tunnel that extends a total of 4,309 feet. (1,313 meters).
The second longest tunnel in the U.S. was discovered in San Diego in 2014, It was 2,966 feet (904 meters) long.
Agents discovered several hundred sandbags blocking a suspected former exit of the tunnel in the Otay Mesa warehouse district within the U.S.