Smugglers' tunnel uncovered on US-Mexico border

[TIJUANA, MEXICO] Military authorities have uncovered a tunnel under the Mexico-US border that was used to smuggle migrants from the city of Tijuana to San Diego, California, the Mexican government said Sunday.

The entrance on the Mexican side was inside a warehouse and the exit was just beyond the border fence in San Diego, officials said.

Twenty-five migrants were picked up by the US Border Patrol as they emerged from the passageway, a Mexican state police official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Mexican defence ministry said in a statement that the tunnel was detected after a tipster called in to report the presence of armed men at the warehouse.

Nobody was arrested on the Mexican side of the border, the police official said.

In recent years, Mexican authorities have detected several border tunnels used to funnel drugs and migrants into the United States.

In Aug 2016, they uncovered a 30-metre tunnel running from the Mexican state of Sonora into Arizona.

In April, US authorities discovered the longest border tunnel yet - an 800-metre passageway connecting Tijuana to Otay Mesa, California.

AFP