Hunters unearth smuggling tunnels.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SURVEILLANCE

OTAY MESA, Calif. -- The end of the tunnel emerges a half mile from the border with Mexico in a room at a nondescript warehouse that is identified on a sign outside as "V & F Distribution Ltd."

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer opens a padlocked hatch and lifts it to reveal an eight-foot shaft that leads down to the longest underground smuggling passageway discovered by law enforcement so far.

Above ground, it's a bright, southern California day. An empty lot stands between the warehouse and the border, which is blocked by a double fence. Binoculars are needed to see the warehouse on the Mexican side where the drug traffickers began their work almost two years ago in this busy corridor, which handles most of the truck crossings in Southern California.

Border Patrol agents kept a watchful eye on the fence here for months as smugglers beneath their feet moved an unknown quantity of contraband into the United States.

To dig a half-mile long tunnel is not a simple task. Those who engineered the project had to install lights along with a ventilation and drainage system. An 83-foot concrete shaft reinforced with concrete blocks was sunk on the Mexican side. The smugglers also had to lease the warehouse on the U.S. side without the owner knowing its purpose. ICE estimates that it would cost a U.S. construction company $2 million to build a similar tunnel, although the agent said it is doubtful the smugglers had to invest that much. Whatever the cost, the money invested could easily be recouped in one night. And the tunnel was believed to be in operation for 18 months.

The ICE agent steps down the ladder holding a flashlight and shines it down the passageway. A spur about half way to the warehouse shot off to the side, but was abandoned by the diggers. ICE believes they were attempting to reach another building, but abandoned that plan, possibly after securing the V & F location.

About 100 feet down the passageway, groundwater blocks progress. Once the tunnel was discovered and the drainage system no longer maintained, the tunnel began to fill in. A few feet from the border, ICE also sunk a hole and filled it with concrete to render it temporarily inoperable. The agency is seeking additional funds to completely shut it down.

Human intelligence on the Mexican side of the border tipped ICE agents off that there was a tunnel somewhere in the vicinity. One arrest has been made so far in the case.

The ICE agent, who declined to be...