Longest Smuggling Tunnel on US-Mexico Border Discovered
People are known to have various hobbies that make them happy in their free time, and they can range from reading books or watching movies to gambling online with the HeySpin Bonus Code – it can all be a lot of fun for the person playing! However, not even the most enthusiastic gamblers would have predicted what officials have discovered on the border between US and Mexico.
One more smuggling tunnel has been discovered at the border between California and Mexico. It is believed this is the longest smuggling tunnel built so far, though no persons or contraband products have been found on the scene. This is just one of the many tunnels discovered in the past 30 years that is used for drug smuggling, among other things.
The Sophisticated Tunnel
The tunnel is equipped with a ventilation system, a railway track, and a lift, as well as a drainage system. It is unclear how long it took to build this tunnel from Tijuana to San Diego, though we know that it stretches for more than 4.000 feet. The tunnel is 5.5 feet tall and 2 feet wide. While there have been no arrests made, it could be the project by Sinaloa cartel, founded and, for a long time led, by Joaquin Guzman. The cartel is notorious for its drug operations.
What separates this tunnel from many others like it is its sophistication. Since 1990, over 120 tunnels have been discovered, though the sophisticated ones started appearing around 2016. John W. Callery, DEA Special Agent in Charge, said in a press release: “As efforts to strengthen security on our Southern Border increase, Mexican drug cartels are forced underground to smuggle their deadly drugs into the United States.”
If we take into account the sophistication of the tunnel, rivaling any planned infrastructural project, it is easy to see the degree the smugglers and drug dealers are willing to go to find their way to the US. This particular tunnel was not likely used for illegal immigration, but we can’t rule out others of similar design. Coyotes and Mules are both very lucrative businesses at the border.
Drugs
There has been a decrease in the confiscating of marijuana, but a significant rise in the seizure of Fentanyl, a powerful pain medication that can also be used in anesthesia. On the illegal market, it is often mixed with heroin and cocaine. Unfortunately, it is much easier to overdose on Fentanyl than on many other narcotics.
The Other Tunnel
Another tunnel that made the news was the incomplete smuggling tunnel at the Arizona-Mexico border. Unlike the aforementioned tunnel that leads to San Diego, this one was dug by hand and had no elementary facilities like ventilation of lighting. It is clear that, if this tunnel had been completed, it would have been much more dangerous to use.
US-Mexico Relations
One of the biggest mottos of US President Donald Trump, while he was still campaigning for the position, was the notorious phrase “Build the Wall.” His stance on illegal immigration involved separating families and having a very low tolerance for illegal immigrants, as well as the Dreamers.
This leads to a rise in tensions between the US and Mexico. The so-called Remain In Mexico policy resulted in thousands of potential immigrants from Central America being stuck in Mexico before their case for immigration becomes scheduled.
While this policy and the aforementioned wall are designed to keep illegal immigrants and drugs out of the country, there are many tunnels and common produce trucks hiding narcotics.
Cheap Prescription Drugs
An interesting fact to supplement stories like this one is that there are many Americans who find it affordable to travel to Mexico and have their prescriptions filled, as the price of medication is often several times cheaper in Mexico than it is in the US. About a million people from California, for example, go to Mexico in pursuit of affordable medication. This often includes potentially life-saving prescriptions, like that of insulin.