Authorities Tuesday announced the discovery of a smuggling tunnel linking Otay Mesa and Tijuana.
Federal officials declined to release details about the underground passageway prior to a Wednesday morning news conference with U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and supervising agents with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The press conference was planned for a commercial area several blocks from the Otay Mesa border crossing, leading to speculation that the tunnel was found nearby.
The discovery comes six months after investigators ferreted out a well-appointed tunnel stretching nearly a half-mile underneath the international line between warehouses in the same two border communities.
Law enforcement agents raided that roughly 800-yard-long subterranean passageway — which was outfitted with ventilation, electric lighting and rails for ferrying contraband — on the night of Oct. 21, hours after it went into use for the first time, authorities said at the time.
City News Service contributed to this article.
