The 1-mile bore measured (approximately) 5ft 7in by 2ft 7in (1.7m by 0.8m) and was accessed via a 30ft (9.1m) deep, 2ft by 2ft (0.6m by 0.6m) shaft. Media sources reported that oxygen pipes for ventilation as well as electric lighting ran along the entire length of the crown, installed by an experienced tunnelling division within the Sinaloa Drugs Cartel.
Some 3,250t of earth would have been brought up under the cover of a half-constructed house near the prison. A motorbike on tracks, which may have been used for El Chapo’s egress, was possibly also used for mucking activities.
In a video consultation with reporters, a former employee of Pablo Escobar estimated construction costs of around USD 50M. El Chapo’s fortune of approximately USD 1bn likely financed the project.
Breakthrough into El Chapo’s shower block was a key challenge for the team to overcome, and although methodology details are not known for certain, guidance was likely undertaken by compass, which has been a favoured method of El Chapo’s drug tunnellers in the past. The tunnel gang has experience of more than 75 known tunnel projects, and is considered a pioneer of sophisticated drug smuggling tunnels.
