Mexico: Drug tunnel into US uncovered

THE Mexican army said it has uncovered an incomplete drug tunnel with lights and ventilation that stretches from the border city of Tijuana 100 metres into the United States.

Mexican army General Alfonso Duarte said the tunnel is about 328 metres long and six feet in height.

The entrance is hidden in a house under construction and the exit has not been dug.

Gen Duarte said that nine men and a woman have been arrested and accused of being responsible for the tunnel's construction.

He said the house included an altar to Santa Muerte, a sacred figure adored by some drug traffickers.

Last November, authorities in Tijuana found between 25 and 30 tons of marijuana in a 600-metre tunnel.