Four Men Charged After Discovery of 2,000-Foot Cocaine Smuggling Tunnel Beneath San Diego Store
U.S. authorities seized more than a ton of cocaine and dismantled a reinforced tunnel beneath a San Diego store after a six-month investigation that began in December 2025.
bbc.co.ukU.S. Department of Justice. The tunnel ran beneath the Buy 4 Less discount store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, directly across the border from Tijuana, Mexico.
Federal agents discovered the exit concealed under the floor of a storage room inside the store. S. Homeland Security Investigations Tunnel Task Force began surveillance of the store in December 2025 after observing a new group of apparent employees and minimal customer traffic.
Investigators noted employees carrying apparently empty suitcases across the border into Tijuana by car and sometimes by hand. Agents moved in on May 29 after spotting large, heavy items being loaded into a white van at the store. A man on a bicycle retrieved a key from a hidden spot near the gas cap and drove the van to meet another vehicle.
A large truck then arrived, and deep freezers containing packages were transferred between the vehicles. San Diego County sheriff’s deputies arrested the suspects that day. Another truck loaded with packages was stopped shortly after leaving the store parking lot.
More than 2,269 pounds of cocaine were recovered from the three vehicles. -Mexico border and continued more than 800 feet into Mexico. At its deepest point, the passage reached 55 feet underground. Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, 29, of San Diego faces charges of distribution of a controlled substance, constructing, financing or using unauthorized tunnels, and importation of a controlled substance.
Jose Jimenez, 32, of San Diego; Antonio Cortez, 18, of Mexico; and Brandon Escalante Sandoval, 26, of Mexico each face charges of distribution of a controlled substance. All four men face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. "For these defendants, it wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel.
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. "This investigation and seizure represent a significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel," Kevin Murphy, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, said in a statement.
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California on June 1 and June 2, 2026.
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