U.S. Border Patrol agents at San Diego Sector, discovered a cross-border smuggling tunnel early Saturday morning after they arrested 30 people who were in the country illegally near the Otay Mesa port of entry.
At around 1:12 a.m., Border Patrol agents encountered several people who had apparently just been smuggled into the U.S.. Agents searched the area and discovered a crude opening in the ground with a ladder inside and determined that is was a smuggling tunnel. The tunnel’s exit is located just north of the secondary fence in the vicinity of the Otay Mesa port of entry.
The 30 aliens are now in Border Patrol custody pending further questioning. There were a total of 23 Chinese nationals, 21 men, two women, and seven Mexican nationals, 4 men and three women.
Members of the San Diego Tunnel Task Force, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), are currently investigating.