Police seize marijuana as Mexico-US drug tunnel found

US and Mexican police have discovered a tunnel used to smuggle drugs across the California-Mexico border and seized some 25 tonnes of marijuana.

The tunnel, equipped with ventilation, lighting and a pulley system, was 550m (1,800ft) long but just waist high.

Police said it connected a warehouse on the US side with one in Tijuana, the main gateway for drugs into California.

Mexican cartels have dug scores of border tunnels, although many of those detected had not been finished.

The latest tunnel was discovered after US agents patrolling near the border crossing in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego pulled over a tractor trailer that had left a warehouse under surveillance.

Agents found some 10 tonnes of marijuana on the vehicle, while another 10 to 15 tonnes were seized in a subsequent raid on the building. A US citizen and his Mexican wife were arrested.

"This wasn't a mom-and-pop operation, or, in this case, a husband and wife operation," said John Morton, director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

"This is clearly organised crime at work. This was the cartels."

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