U.S. WARNS ABOUT TIES TO TUNNEL

Immigration Officials: Drug Cartels Threatened Those Who Used, Built It

SAN DIEGO - Those associated with the longest and one of the most
sophisticated tunnels ever discovered along the U.S.-Mexico border
may be in grave danger, U.S. officials said Friday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it had received
intelligence that a Mexican drug cartel behind the tunnel had
threatened the people who used it or were involved in its design or
construction.

The agency appealed to those at risk to seek out U.S. officials at
Mexican border crossings and pledged to do everything possible to protect them.

More than 2 tons of marijuana were found in the tunnel discovered
this week, which ran about 2,400 feet from a warehouse near the
airport in Tijuana, Mexico, to a warehouse in San Diego's Otay Mesa
industrial district.

As deep as 90 feet below the surface, authorities found a floor lined
with cement, lights that ran down one of the hard soil walls, a
groundwater pump and pipes that circulated fresh air, he said. An
adult could stand in the 5-foot-high shaft.

"There is no doubt that an organization like this will take whatever
steps necessary to protect their interests, including taking human
lives," said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge of the agency's
investigations in San Diego.