Unfinished border tunnel found in Otay Mesa (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Unfinished border tunnel found in Otay Mesa
By Angelica Martinez
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
12:24 p.m. April 2, 2008

OTAY MESA – An unfinished tunnel that originated in Mexico and crossed into the United States was discovered by authorities Tuesday afternoon.
The tunnel measured 2 feet in diameter and stretched 14 feet across the border. It ended underground about a quarter-mile east of the commercial facility at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and did not have an exit on the U.S. side, said Lauren Mack, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.
Members of the San Diego Tunnel Task Force, which include Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, received a tip about the tunnel Tuesday.
They shared the information with Mexican authorities, who discovered an open channel on their side.
Authorities on Wednesday started filling the hole, which is believed to have been created for human smuggling, Mack said. Mexican officials are leading the efforts to fill in the hole with the help of a firefighting crew and materials donated by a Mexican company.
Mack said the opening was a gopher-type tunnel because of its size and shape.
“Typically, those kinds of tunnels have been linked to human smuggling,” she said. “They are very small, very unsophisticated. They're just big enough for one person to wiggle or squeeze through.”
Agents are still trying to determine if the passageway linked to an underground drainage system on the U.S. side of the border.
No arrests have been made.