Tunnel found inside Texas vape shop may have cartel ties: DEA

(NewsNation) — The owner of a Texas vape shop was arrested and faces criminal drug charges after federal and local law enforcement officers discovered a tunnel that investigators believe could be linked to transnational criminal organizations.

The Drug Enforcement Administration discovered the 25-foot-deep tunnel inside the Laredo business as part of a week-long enforcement operation, officials said. The operation, which is being called “Operation Vaporizer,” is targeting American vape shops, including those along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Officials with the DEA’s Houston division told NewsNation that the purpose of the unfinished passageway was intended for illicit use. As part of the probe, including the Laredo police, cocaine and marijuana were seized.

Gilberto Pena, who owns the Laredo shop, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance. The DEA operation is part of a crackdown on shops that sell vape pens with either THC or other illegal substances. Texas Senate Bill 2024 was enacted on Sept. 1, which makes vape pens containing THC illegal, especially in terms of those items being sold to minors.

In Laredo, officials said that 22 shops were inspected, which resulted in only one other arrest being made. County officials told NewsNation that although Pena’s shop remains open, authorities will return to the business to dismantle the tunnel.

Laredo’s ties to the cartels drug trafficking operation

Laredo is a key entry point into the United States for the smuggling of illicit drugs by the cartels, according to authorities. Given the way that cartels use different methods to move drugs into the United States, the investigation will delve deeper into possible connections, Isidro Alaniz, the district attorney in Webb County, Texas, told NewsNation.

“We are the gateway city into the United States,” Alaniz said. “Our main concern, like any community in Texas, is making sure that these substances are not making it into the hands of young persons.”

Alaniz said that local officials are specifically trying to protect elementary to high-school-aged students from THC products. He said officials have seen a growing trend in young people experimenting with products like vape pens, which raises concerns about how easily accessible the products are.

Texas authorities on the border say that the U.S. could start to see an increase in cartels relying on tunnels for human and drug smuggling to avoid confrontation with the U.S. military presence on the border.

Earlier this year, border patrol agents on the San Diego border uncovered and disabled a massive, large-scale smuggling tunnel that extended more than 1,000 feet inside the U.S. The tunnel was highly sophisticated and equipped with electrical wiring, lighting, and even had a built-in track system designed to transport large quantities of contraband.

Lt. Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety expects that because the Trump administration has put more of an emphasis on securing the southern border, criminal cartels will adjust how they attempt to move illicit drugs into the country.

Olivarez said that while cartels are continuing to traffic humans and drugs across the border, often relying on tunnels and stash houses to do so, the increased enforcement of the border by federal immigration officers and U.S. military members has changed the ways cartels conduct their business.

Olivarez said in a growing number of instances, young people are being targeted to help cartels achieve their goals.

“They’re going to be more discreet,” Olivarez told NewsNation. “They’re more discreet, there’s a lot more scouting involved, meaning there’s a lot more people involved … Criminal smuggling organizations are always going to adapt to changes and they’re well aware as far as what’s going on at the border and (of) the consequences.”