Suspected border tunnel discovered

Authorities discovered a suspected cross-border tunnel in Tecate on Monday 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 to find a man with a gun in his waistband disappearing inside a hole. Inside the container were thousands of pounds of what was believed to be marijuana, said James Jacques, a Border Patrol spokesman.

The property is about a quarter-mile north of the Tecate Port of Entry, which would make it one of the longest tunnels discovered in recent years along the U.S.-Mexico border. It has concrete and wood supports, telltale signs of a sophisticated drug-smuggling operation, a federal law enforcement source said.

Bundles of drugs were also found in a nearby trailer, suggesting that the stash was apparently in the process of being transferred for shipment. The property is in a rural area 40 miles east of San Diego.

-- Richard Marosi