Massive underground drug tunnel linking San Diego to Tijuana seized, 4 arrested
Federal authorities have uncovered what they describe as one of the most sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnels ever found along the U.S.-Mexico border, hidden beneath a fake discount store in San Diego. The tunnel stretched roughly 2,000 feet — about the length of six football fields — connecting a warehouse in Otay Mesa to a secret entry point in Tijuana, Mexico.
Four suspects were arrested and charged with trafficking more than $45 million worth of cocaine through the underground passage, which officials said featured reinforced walls, electrical lighting, ventilation shafts, and a rail system to move drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the bust in a statement Wednesday.
The investigation began late last year after Homeland Security Investigations’ Tunnel Task Force flagged unusual activity at a store called Buy 4 Less near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Investigators noted that the location saw almost no customer foot traffic — behavior inconsistent with a retail operation.
Instead, they observed workers carrying empty-looking suitcases across the border into Tijuana by car and even on foot. The break in the case came on May 29, when agents spotted what they described as “large, heavy items” being loaded into a white van. The van was then driven a short distance away, where a man on a bicycle retrieved a hidden key from near the gas cap and shuttled the vehicle to a second van. Deep freezers packed with packages were transferred between vehicles, and a large truck arrived to receive the load.
San Diego County sheriff’s deputies moved in and stopped multiple vehicles simultaneously, ultimately recovering more than 2,269 pounds of cocaine — roughly a metric ton — from three separate trucks, according to court records. A subsequent warrant search of the Buy 4 Less store revealed the tunnel’s exit concealed beneath the floor of a storage room. The passage descended up to 55 feet underground, ran just over 1,000 feet to the border, and continued another 800-plus feet on the Mexican side.
The suspects — Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, 29, and Jose Jimenez, 32, both of San Diego; Antonio Cortez, 18, of Mexico; and Brandon Escalante Sandoval, 26, of Mexico — face federal charges of distribution of a controlled substance. Hernandez Lopez also faces charges of constructing unauthorized tunnels and importing cocaine. All four could receive life sentences if convicted.
Law enforcement officials linked the operation to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations. “This seizure and the dismantlement of this sophisticated tunnel represent a significant blow to the cartel,” said Kevin Murphy, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, in a statement. “It underscores the commitment of our Homeland Security Task Force partners to cut off these underground supply lines.”
The tunnel’s construction and scale — with its rail system and ventilation — highlight the increasingly elaborate methods cartels use to move narcotics across the border. Similar tunnels have been discovered in recent years, but this one ranks among the most advanced, officials said. The discovery also raises questions about how long the operation had been running before surveillance began.
“For these defendants, it wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. It was lights and sirens,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a reference to the bust.