LAREDO, Texas–Human smugglers and drug traffickers have been using drainage pipes as makeshift tunnels that lead from the banks of the Rio Grande into the streets of Laredo, Texas.

Breitbart Texas reporters observed a soiled brown jacket, likely left behind by an immigrant or smuggler, sitting just yards from the entrance to one of these water drainage pipes. Border Patrol agents have identified these pipes as areas of unimpeded access for smugglers entering the city. Located just south of Laredo is Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican city overrun by the Zetas. The Zetas are a powerful drug cartel which law enforcement considers one of the most violent criminal organizations in Mexico.

According to Border Patrol agents, as smugglers enter the country in this area they often travel through the open pipes, using them to cross several yards while evading capture. The smugglers come out at an area just south of a low-income residential area known as the Azteca neighborhood. Border Patrol recognizes the area as a hotbed for drug trafficking. On nights when fewer Border Patrol are on shift, around 30 traffickers may come through a given tunnel.

Laredo has not covered or replaced one of the missing manhole covers, resulting in a continued safe haven for smugglers. Federal authorities claim the smugglers will wait inside the drainage pipes for hours at a time, waiting for the coast to be clear of law enforcement. Smugglers will then come out of the sewer, right into the city streets where they blend in with the community.

“This tunnel is a corridor for Narco Smugglers“ Darby said.

CONTINUE READING AT BREITBART 

by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ, MICHELLE MOONS, AND DANIEL NUSSBAUM

VIDEOS VIA Brandon Darby

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