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What appeared to be an ordinary family
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home in Tijuana, Mexico was hiding an
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enormous secret. From the outside, there
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was nothing unusual about the house.
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Inside, it looked like any other home
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with bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and
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a living room. But one part of the house
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had been hidden from everyone. And when
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police finally discovered what was
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concealed behind an ordinary wardrobe,
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even they were stunned.
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What could a normal-looking home
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possibly be hiding? And how far did the
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Before we begin, make sure you smash the
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Tijuana is the largest city in Baja
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California and one [music] of the
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busiest border cities in Mexico. It is
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also no stranger to organized crime,
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smuggling, and trafficking operations.
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But at first glance, there was no reason
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for authorities to suspect that the
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owners of this particular house were
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involved in anything illegal.
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>> The neighborhood was quiet. The house
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looked completely normal.
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Nothing about it suggested that one of
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the most elaborate smuggling routes in
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the area was hidden inside.
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Then police received a tip.
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Early one morning, officers surrounded
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the property and entered the house.
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They searched every room carefully
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looking for the hidden passage they had
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been told existed somewhere inside.
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Eventually, one officer entered a
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>> and noticed a large wooden wardrobe.
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At first, there was nothing suspicious
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about it. A wardrobe in a bedroom was
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exactly where it should be.
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But when the officer opened the doors,
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he found no clothing inside.
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The entire [music] wardrobe was empty.
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That alone seemed strange.
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Hidden beneath the wardrobe was an
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opening in the floor.
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The officers had expected to find some
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What they did not expect was an
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Mounted inside the hidden space was a
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makeshift lift capable of carrying
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[music] several people underground.
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There were switches installed in the
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wall and a platform large enough to hold
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eight to 10 men at once.
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The officers had no idea where it led.
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Still, they climbed inside and began
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When the elevator stopped, the doors
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opened onto a narrow opening in the
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At first, the officers had to crawl
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through the tight space.
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The entrance was dark, steep, and
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But after moving farther inside, the
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passage widened into a tunnel
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approximately 5 ft high and 3 ft across.
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It stretched for more than 500 ft.
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The officers continued through the
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underground passage until they
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discovered where it ended.
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The tunnel crossed beneath the
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international border. Its exit was
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located inside a pallet warehouse in San
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The opening was so small and carefully
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concealed that an ordinary trash can
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could cover it completely.
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The warehouse appeared to be a
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legitimate business, but [music]
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smugglers often use real companies as
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fronts to hide their operations.
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Now authorities knew the tunnel existed,
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they still needed to catch the people
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Investigators began monitoring the
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warehouse and the surrounding area. They
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waited for evidence that drugs were
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actually being moved through the tunnel.
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Eventually, officers saw a truck arrive
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and watched as workers began loading it
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Once the vehicle left the warehouse,
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authorities moved in.
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Inside the truck, they discovered an
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enormous shipment of illegal narcotics.
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The load included approximately 1 ton of
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white powder and more than 7 tons of
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Had the officers waited much longer, the
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shipment could have disappeared into the
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The hidden tunnel, the warehouse, and
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the truck gave investigators everything
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they needed. Six suspects were arrested.
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They included one American, two Cubans,
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and three Mexican nationals,
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>> showing that the operation involved
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people working on both sides of the
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After securing the scene, authorities
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began examining the tunnel itself. They
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were shocked by how sophisticated it
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The smugglers had installed electricity
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throughout the passage. There was a full
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ventilation system to keep air moving
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underground. Water pumps had been added
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The elevator allowed people and cargo to
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move quickly between the house and the
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And perhaps most remarkably, the entire
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structure had reportedly been excavated
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largely by hand over a period of months.
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This was not a crude hole dug beneath a
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fence. It was a carefully engineered
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underground transportation route capable
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of moving millions of dollars worth of
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drugs between Mexico and the United
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Its location had been chosen perfectly.
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On the Mexican side, the entrance was
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hidden inside a quiet residential house.
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On the American side, it opened into a
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busy commercial warehouse.
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Both locations blended naturally into
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>> No one walking past either building
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would ever have guessed that they were
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connected beneath the border.
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Unfortunately, this was not the first
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tunnel of its kind. Authorities have
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discovered many similar passages
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connecting Mexico and the United States.
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Some were simple dirt tunnels. Others
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were so advanced that investigators
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called them super tunnels.
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One such tunnel discovered in 2013
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>> stretched approximately the length of
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six football fields. It contained
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walls, lighting, ventilation, and an
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automated rail system that allowed
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smugglers to place narcotics into carts
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[music] and transport them through the
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tunnel without carrying them by hand.
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Tunnels of that scale can cost hundreds
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of thousands or even millions of dollars
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to construct. But for large criminal
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organizations, a single successful
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shipment can pay for the entire
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operation. These underground routes have
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also been used to transport people
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across the border. In some cases,
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migrants were reportedly asked to carry
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narcotics [music] in exchange for
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The use of tunnels became especially
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attractive to traffickers as border and
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airport security became more advanced.
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When traditional routes became harder to
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use, smugglers simply began digging
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beneath them. The strategy was famously
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associated with Joaquin Guzman, better
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known as El Chapo. His organization
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constructed sophisticated tunnels
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beneath buildings, safe houses, and even
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One of his most famous escapes involved
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a passage built beneath the shower area
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The tunnel contained lighting,
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ventilation, and a rail-mounted
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motorcycle designed to carry him
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Whether the Tijuana house was directly
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connected to his organization was never
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confirmed, but the construction clearly
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followed the same philosophy. Hide the
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entrance in plain sight. Build
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>> And make the operation so elaborate that
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no one imagines it could possibly be
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Since 1990, authorities have uncovered
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more than 100 tunnels connecting Mexico
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with the United States.
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Many more [music] were discovered before
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they were completed, and no one knows
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how many may still remain hidden beneath
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ordinary homes, warehouses, and [music]
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The family house in Tijuana looked
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Its rooms were ordinary. Its
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neighborhood was quiet. And its wardrobe
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appeared to be nothing more than a place
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But hidden behind those wooden doors was
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Beneath the elevator was a tunnel. And
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at the end of that tunnel was an
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international smuggling operation moving
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tons of illegal drugs beneath one of the
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most heavily monitored borders in the
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It was the kind of secret no one would
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have believed existed
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until police opened the wardrobe.
