(Tacate is just East of Campo - Indy)
SAN DIEGO -- Federal authorities discovered a suspected cross-border drug tunnel in Tecate this morning after a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit followed the scent of drugs to a compound of trailers north of the border, authorities said.
An agent entered a cargo-like container and saw a man with a gun in his waistband disappearing into a hole. Inside the container were thousands of pounds of what is believed to be marijuana, said James Jacques, a Border Patrol spokesman.
The site is in a rural area 40 miles east of San Diego, and the tunnel's north entrance is about a quarter-mile from the Tecate Port of Entry, which would make it one of the longest tunnels discovered in recent years along the border. It has concrete and wood supports -- telltale signs of a sophisticated drug-smuggling operation, according to a federal law enforcement source.
Bundles of drugs also were found in a nearby trailer, suggesting that the stash was apparently in the process of being transferred for shipment. Mexican authorities are said to be searching for the tunnel entry point in the Mexican town of Tecate. Authorities don't yet know how long the tunnel was operational.
richard.marosi@latimes.com
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