San Diego, October 11: A solar-powered tunnel with rail system has been unearthed under the US-Mexico border in the frontier province of California. The tunnel, electrified using solar energy, had ventilation and railway system to facilitate the movement of drug peddlers.

The tunnel was first found by the Mexican police on September 19, during a raid in Jamoe town, located as close as 227 feet away from the Californian border. Subsequently, the US Border Patrol was alerted, which found the same tunnel running 336 feet into California's Otay Mesa. However, the tunnel had no exit shaft, which made investigators conclude that it was still under construction. US Coast Guard Recovers 75 Pounds of Cocaine Floating in Gulf of Mexico Off Florida.

The US Homeland Security has suspected the role of cross-border drug-peddling groups, who sell banned narcotic substances in California. Based on the inputs received from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mexican police has launched a hunt to nab the unidentified group involved in digging of the tunnel.

In the statement issued to the media, the US Border Patrol team said the tunnel unearthed measured approximately 31 feet deep, with a total length of 627 feet.

Earlier in the year, the Border Patrol team had unearthed two unsophisticated tunnels in San Diego, whose other end was located across the Mexican border. The tunnels were intended to be used for drug export by the peddlers based on the other side of the border.

The tunnel-route strategy was first used in 2015 by drug trade kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who escaped from a highly guarded prison through a mile-long tunnel which he had dig over a period of six months. Guzmán, however, was subsequently captured by the Mexican police who deported him to the US. He is currently awaiting trial in New York.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 11, 2018 07:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).