U.S. and Mexican officials discovered one of the longest and most sophisticated drug tunnels used to smuggle drugs from the Mexican city of Tijuana to San Diego, California.

"Federal agents on the San Diego Tunnel Task Force have once again taken down a sophisticated cross border drug smuggling tunnel that was fully operational under the San Diego-Tijuana border," said Dave Shaw, special agent for ICE Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, in a statement. "The success of this investigation is yet another example of our commitment to secure the border while combating the increasingly dangerous underground smuggling activity."

The ingenious "super tunnel" ran 2,400ft long and 30 feet deep on the U.S.-Mexico border. It was also equipped with a railway, lighting and ventilation to quickly transport narcotics from warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana. Officials believe it was built and ran by fugitive drug cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and his drug gang.

In addition to seizing control of the tunnel Wednesday night, authorities detained 22 suspects and confiscated at least 12 tons of marijuana with a street value of $6 million.

"We see a super tunnel open for business once every year or so," said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy of Southern California. "Just when traffickers think they're ready to move, we put them out of business."

The newly constructed tunnel was discovered during a six-month sting involving an undercover U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agent who agreed to provide drug smugglers with drivers and use of a warehouse in exchange for a $10,000 for each truckload of drugs moved, according to a probable cause statement, reports The Associated Press. On Wednesday, the suspects told the agent about their plot to transport loads of marijuana from the tunnel warehouse to another warehouse.

Since 2006, nine other large-scale drug smuggling tunnels have been discovered in the San Diego area. Altogether, authorities have found more than 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels, mainly in California and Arizona, reports CNN.