Tuesday’s discovery resulted in the arrest of the tractor driver and his wife, and seizure of the marijuana bricks already packaged for sale. 

 

Approximately four additional tons were found in the warehouse on the Mexican side. The tunnel had lighting, ventilation and a rail system to transport load of drugs to the U.S., but was believed to have been in operation only a short time, according to John Morton, ICE Director. He held a news conference outside the warehouse near the Otay Mesa truck crossing saying, “This is obviously the work of a cartel,” but said they hadn’t determined which one.

 

This week’s seizure was the largest ever in California, and believed to be the second largest in the U.S. The largest was a 2008 DEA finding of 33 tons in Oregon, according to DEA agent Ralph Partridge. 

 

Wednesday’s announcement came just weeks after the largest Mexican confiscation of 134 tons believed to belong to the Sinoloa cartel.

 

ICE’s "tunnel task force" is trained and watchful, and this discovery points to one more success. Tuesday’s tunnel finding was only one of 125 such discoveries since the 1990s, 75 of those having been found in the last four years, according to ICE. The majority was found along the California and Arizona border with Mexico and many were incomplete when discovered.

 

Morton attributed the increase in discoveries to “good old fashioned law enforcement,” with agents closely watching thousands of warehouses that store goods moved back and forth across the border. He also believes cooperation is better than ever, making it tougher for traffickers to move their loads above ground, and forcing them to be more creative in their efforts.

 

Tijuana — just south of San Diego — isn’t far behind El Paso, Texas, across from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, in border violence. El Paso is one of the deadliest cities in the world, but has no monopoly on drug-related violence and deaths. On November 1, Fox News reported several gruesome deaths in border cities, including Tijuana. State police there seized 14 tons of marijuana in the same neighborhood of the city where gunmen killed 13 people at a drug rehab center late in October.

 

Despite the heroic efforts of border agents it isn’t enough. Violence is on the rise, and many believe serious crackdowns on immigration problems are desperately needed, especially in the beleaguered border states.