This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

US and Mexican authorities have discovered an incomplete cross-border drug smuggling tunnel complete with a rail track and a solar-powered lighting and ventilation system.

The US border patrol said on Tuesday that the clandestine passage measured 627 feet (191 meters), including 336ft inside US territory, in California. The tunnel builders had started working on an exit shaft north of the border, but had not broken the surface before it was discovered.

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Mexican police discovered the tunnel on 19 September while searching a home 221ft south of the border, in the town of Jacume, in Baja California state.

The border patrol said that a solar panel system had been set up to power lighting and ventilation systems inside the tunnel, which was also equipped with a rail system along its entire length, and two pumps to drain water.

Drug smugglers often use tunnels to move their products across the US-Mexico border; dozens have been discovered in recent years – mostly in California and Arizona.

The San Diego-Tijuana region is popular because its clay-like soil is relatively easy to dig with shovels and pneumatic tools, and both sides of the border have warehouses that provide cover for trucks and heavy equipment.

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The strategy was pioneered by the former head of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is currently awaiting trial in New York.

In 2015, Guzmán escaped from a maximum security prison through a hole in his shower floor which lead to a mile-long tunnel equipped with a modified motorcycle on rails. He was recaptured six months later and extradited to the US last year.