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National Drug Intelligence Center |
| Name | Location and Sector | Date of Discovery | Description | Amount of Drug Seizure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tecate No. 1 | Tecate San Diego Sector |
12/3/2007 | The U.S. exit of this tunnel was in a 30-foot shipping container. An agent observed an unidentified subject with a handgun in the waistband of his pants escape through the tunnel opening. The 3-foot by 3-foot opening dropped 10 feet into the tunnel, which sloped downward toward Mexico. The Mexican entrance was in an office building. The tunnel had lighting, ventilation, and a water extraction system. | Bundles (888) totaling 13,776.6 pounds of marijuana were seized from the shipping container. |
| Otay Mesa No. 13 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
6/21/2007 | A Mexican immigration officer discovered the incomplete tunnel approximately 300 yards east of the Otay Mesa POE. The small, crude tunnel extended 15 feet into the United States. A bucket and pickax were found in the tunnel. There was no U.S. exit. | NA |
| Otay Mesa No. 11 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
3/28/2007 | Border Patrol agents discovered an incomplete tunnel approximately 1 mile west of the Otay Mesa POE subsequent to information obtained from an arrested foot guide. The Mexico entrance was in the same area as Otay Mesa No. 8. The small, crude tunnel extended 2 feet into the United States. There was no U.S. opening. | NA |
| Otay Mesa No. 12 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
3/28/2007 | Mexican authorities discovered this incomplete tunnel while investigating Otay Mesa No. 11. The small, crude tunnel extended 2 feet into the United States. There was no U.S. opening. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 12 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
10/23/2006 | Mexican authorities and Border Patrol agents discovered the incomplete tunnel 1/2 mile west of the San Ysidro POE. There was no U.S. exit. | NA |
| Otay Mesa No. 10 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
10/10/2006 | San Diego Tunnel Task Force discovered a human smuggling operation through a privately owned, man-made concrete enclosure used to protect a liquefied oxygen pipe between Mexico and the United States, approximately 1/4 mile east of the Otay Mesa POE. The Mexican entrance was through a manhole cover just south of fence panel No. 190. The U.S. opening was dug out from the enclosure to an abandoned lot. This is the first reported use of a legitimate, privately owned subterranean structure with which to smuggle aliens or contraband from Mexico to the United States | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 11 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
9/26/2006 | The Mexican entrance of this incomplete tunnel was 71 feet south of the border fence. The tunnel crossed under Memo Lane and would have exited in a parking lot. Portions of the tunnel were shored with 4-inch by 4-inch wooden beams, plywood, and sand bags, while other portions were shored with 24-inch white PVC (polyvinyl chloride, or plastic) pipe. | NA |
| Calexico No. 4 | Calexico El Centro Sector |
9/15/2006 | The Mexican entrance of this tunnel was under a bed in the back bedroom of a residence. The U.S. entrance was a crude trap door in the bedroom floor of the residence on Second Street in Calexico. It was shored with 3-foot lengths of 6-inch by 6-inch timbers spaced 10 inches apart and had a concrete floor. The tunnel was equipped with droplights, a water extraction system, and two small fans for ventilation. Skateboards found in the tunnel were most likely used to move drugs through the tunnel. Ladders were placed at both entrances. | Task Force members requested that local police initiate a traffic stop on a suspect vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of 1,143 pounds of marijuana. |
| San Ysidro No. 10 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
5/25/2006 | Border Patrol Agents and Grupo Beta confirmed that an incomplete tunnel was being built approximately 1/4 mile west of the San Ysidro POE. The Mexico entrance was 3 feet south of the border fence. There was no U.S. opening. Although the tunnel extended only 1 foot into the United States, it was deemed a tunnel because the U.S. side is a paved surface and it was assessed that the tunnel would most likely extend beyond the secondary fence. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 9 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
5/16/2006 | Border Patrol agents discovered the incomplete tunnel when the concrete truck en route to backfill San Ysidro No. 8 created a sinkhole. The tunnel appeared to be under construction from an unknown location in Mexico. No Mexican entrance was found because the tunnel was not fully explored, for safety reasons. It is quite likely that the tunnel entrance was in the area controlled by Mexican Customs. There was no U.S. exit. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 8 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
5/15/2006 | The U.S. exit was located in the SYG Venture Parking Lot about 20 feet from San Ysidro No. 1 and was covered with a steel plate and concealed with soil. According to available reporting, no Mexican exit was identified. PVC pipe of 30 inches in diameter was used in the first 15 feet of the tunnel, and then it became a dirt passageway. Digging tools, an electric fan, and flashlights were found in the tunnel. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 6 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
2/9/2006 | The Mexican entrance was adjacent to fence panel No. 79. The tunnel terminated at the Memo Lane drainage ditch. There was no U.S. opening. Mexican authorities had discovered the tunnel entrance about 30 days before and had filled it with debris and rubble. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 7 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
2/9/2006 | Mexican authorities discovered an incomplete tunnel 1/2 mile west of the San Ysidro POE. There was no exit in the United States. The tunnel was dug on the flood control levee to the Tijuana River channel. | NA |
| Otay Mesa No. 8 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
1/31/2006 | Grupo Beta discovered this incomplete tunnel, which extended only a short distance north and appeared to be headed toward a U.S. storm drain between the primary and secondary fences. | NA |
| Otay Mesa No. 9 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
1/31/2006 | This small, crude tunnel extended only a short distance north. The entrance was adjacent to a previous hole that had been sealed with concrete. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 5 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
1/25/2006 | The Mexican entrance to this tunnel was in an area controlled by Mexican Customs. No opening was found in the United States. A USBP agent observed four unidentified subjects crawling south through the tunnel. The tunnel was partially reinforced with 24-inch-diameter PVC pipe. This tunnel is approximately 50 yards west of a similar tunnel discovered on January 9, 2006. | NA |
| Otay Mesa No. 7 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
1/24/2006 | This completed tunnel is the largest cross-border tunnel yet discovered. Mexican authorities found the Mexico entrance in a warehouse about 175 yards south of the border near the Tijuana Airport. The Mexican entrance is an 85-foot cement-lined vertical shaft with a pulley system to lower drugs on a gurney attached to a rope. The U.S. opening was in the Otay Mesa business district, less than one block from the probable terminus of Otay Mesa No. 1 discovered June 1, 1993. The tunnel was equipped with lights, ventilation, and a water extraction system. | 2 tons of marijuana seized on the Mexican side, about 200 pounds on the U.S. side. |
| Otay Mesa No. 6 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
1/20/2006 | This incomplete tunnel was found approximately 1/2 mile west of the Otay Mesa POE. The Mexican entrance was adjacent to the border fence and was concealed with a 2-foot by 2-foot board covered with dirt. The tunnel ran toward a U.S. storm drain. It is believed that it would have connected to the storm drain, which leads north from the border area. Electricity was provided from Mexico for lighting and for operating an electric drill. | NA |
| San Ysidro No. 4 | San Ysidro San Diego Sector |
1/9/2006 | The Mexican entrance of this tunnel was adjacent to the primary border fence in an area controlled by Mexican Customs and was concealed with diamond-plated steel panels and covered with sandbags. The tunnel was partially reinforced with 24-inch-diameter PVC pipe. | A small black plastic bag with 0.915 pounds of marijuana and eight military-style duffel bags were seized at the U.S. opening. |
| Otay Mesa No. 5 | Otay Mesa San Diego Sector |
11/16/2005 | The Mexican entrance of this tunnel was adjacent to the border fence. The tunnel ran under a section of paved border road and through a concrete wall where the diggers had cut a 3-foot by 2-foot hole to continue north of the wall. It appeared to turn east for a few feet at the northern terminus of the tunnel in order to avoid a drainage area. It ended about 30 feet from the closest drainage/sewer pipe in the area. This tunnel was found within a few feet of Otay Mesa No. 4, found on August 22, 2004. | NA |
| Calexico No. 3 | Calexico El Centro Sector |
2/25/2005 | This is the only tunnel as of the date of this report that was detected using electronic means. The complete tunnel extended from the Mexico entrance in the master bedroom of a residence to the U.S. exit in a small room at the rear of a garage. It was equipped with video surveillance equipment, a phone line, air conditioning, electricity, and ventilation. The walls and ceiling were shored with wooden supports, plywood, and fiberglass sheets. The tunnel had a concrete floor. Open source reporting indicates that dirt removed equaled 56 truckloads at 6 cubic feet each. | NA |
Source: Department of Homeland Security, Master List of Border
Tunnels, 12/19/2007.
NA--Not applicable.
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