Toronto Police Underground - Police in Canada's most populous city Toronto are at a loss to explain the origin of a 10-metre long underground tunnel that was found near the Rexall Centre at York University campus, where the Pan Am Games will be held in July.
According to local sources, the tunnel was found on Jan. 14 by an officer from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, who was going about his normal rounds. The officer was reportedly attracted by a pile of dirt in the area, and after lifting a piece of wood used to cover the hole, he found the tunnel below.
The incomplete hand-dug plywood-lined tunnel is 10-metre long, at least 6 metres high and 2 metres wide. But it leads nowhere. It is unclear what the motive of the builders of the tunnel was; but officials say they may have worked on digging the tunnel as recent as this winter. Among other things, officials found a rosary, work gloves, food and drink containers, moisture-resistant light bulbs, drainage pipes, a ladder, a pulley system, as well as a gas generator.
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Mark Saunders, who spoke to the press on Tuesday, revealed that ice formation at the end of the drainage pipe shows that it has been in use recently.
While officials have downplayed the security threat that the mysterious tunnel may possess, there is an ongoing investigation to find out who dug the tunnel and why. Officials have reportedly been questioning people in the area for leads and pictures of the tunnels have been released to the public. Canadian national security officials and international security agencies have also been informed of the tunnel.
Although the digging of the tunnel may have violated state laws, Saunders says no criminal motives can be established until the perpetrators come forward or their motives are uncovered. He has dismissed concerns that the tunnel was meant to infiltrate the Rexall Centre during the Pan Am Games saying that it "would have just gone right through a hill and that would have been it."
The tunnel has reportedly been filled in.
Officials have asked anyone with information about the tunnel to call 416-808-3100 or contact Crime Stoppers on 4416-808-7260.
