Mexico's Drug Tunnels

Around 17 tons of marijuana have been seized after the discovery of a tunnel which police said was one of the most significant drug-smuggling passages ever found on the U.S-Mexico border. The tunnel stretched around 400 yards between warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana, was lined with wood supports and equipped with lighting and ventilation systems.

Authorities announced the bust at a news conference yesterday near packages of dope festooned with labels of Captain America, Sprite and Bud Light - the coded markings used to identify the owners.

17 tons of marijuana... It's awesome dude...

Click to read more »

The Real Underground World

Caves and tunnels have always been part of human life. We've grown more adept at shaping these underground shelters and passages over the millennia, and today we dig for hundreds of reasons. We excavate to find both literal and cultural treasures, digging mines and unearthing archaeological discoveries.

We use caverns for stable storage, for entertainment, and for an effective shelter from natural and man-made disasters. And as the planet's surface becomes ever more crowded, and national borders are closed, tunnels provide pathways for our vehicles and for smugglers of every kind. 

Collected below are some recent subterranean scenes from around the world.

Tourists visit the Kuha Karuhas pavilion located inside the Phraya Nakhon cave, in the Khao Sam Roi Yot national park, some 300 km south of Bangkok, Thailand, on December 5, 2010. The pavillon was built in 1890 on the occasion of a visit to the cave by King Chulalongkorn, the grand-father of current King Bhumibol Adulyadej. (Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images) 

A visitor stands in the Erstfeld-Amsteg section of the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel October 5, 2010. With a length of 57 km (35 miles) crossing the Alps, the world's longest train tunnel should become operational at the end of 2017. (Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)  

Click to read more »