A secret tunnel discovered last week on the U.S.-Mexico border will be sealed by Mexican authorities, an army official in Ciudad Juarez said Saturday. The tunnel, discovered on Jan. 10, connects the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez with the Texas city of El Paso.

Mexican authorities have begun filling a tunnel crossing the border with the U.S. that experts say was likely used to smuggle drugs as well as VIP migrants paying tens of thousands of dollars to enter the country.

Discovered on January 10 by US and Mexican security agencies, the tunnel measures approximately 300 meters (1,000 feet) in length on the Mexican side and is equipped with lighting, ventilation and is

A hidden cross-border tunnel used to smuggle migrants and contraband between the US and Mexico will be sealed, Mexican border officials have said.

General Jose Lemus, commander of Ciudad Juarez's military garrison, said the tunnel "must have taken a long time" to build, suggesting "it could have been one or two years".

Mexican authorities have begun filling in an underground smuggling tunnel that stretches from Juarez to South Central El Paso.