Federal prosecutors in Southern California charged four men on June 2 with trafficking cocaine for the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) through a 1,933-foot tunnel beneath a fake retail store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began surveilling the storefront, called “Buy 4 Less,” in December 2025. Agents observed employees moving suitcases with minimal customer traffic, behavior a federal criminal complaint described as inconsistent with a retail operation.
On May 29, agents watched suspects load drug-filled deep freezers into vehicles. San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies stopped all three and seized 2,270 pounds of cocaine, valued at approximately $45 million. The bust appears to have intercepted the tunnel’s first operational shipment.
HSI Tunnel Task Force kept tabs on Buy 4 Less store over the border in Otay Mesa. After several vans left to a small auto shop in National City, authorities seized 1 ton of cocaine and discovered a 55′ deep tunnel stretching into TJ under the empty store.https://t.co/tNAp2vAxJp pic.twitter.com/3tfs1khJts
— Socalj-BB (@SocaljBB) June 2, 2026
A search warrant at the store uncovered the tunnel, accessed through a hydraulic lift, 55 feet underground and equipped with a rail and cart system, electricity, and ventilation.
HSI San Diego & Homeland Security Task Force partners uncovered a sophisticated cross-border tunnel at an Otay Mesa retail store, leading to charges against four individuals for conspiring to distribute over a ton of cocaine valued at $45M.
Read more- https://t.co/oFkBnyQELo pic.twitter.com/UQDtwuaenZ— HSI San Diego (@HSISanDiego) June 2, 2026
The defendants include San Diego residents Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, 29, and Jose Jimenez, 32, and Mexican nationals Antonio Cortez, 18, and Brandon Escalante Sandoval, 26. All face drug distribution charges with a maximum penalty of life in prison. Hernandez Lopez faces additional charges of constructing and financing the tunnel.
“Cocaine is now the lifeblood of the cartels and what you see here today is a cardiac arrest for their system and those defendants,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said.
Four Charged with Trafficking More Than $45 Million Worth of Cocaine through Sophisticated Cross-Border Tunnel; Discovery Made in Monthslong Homeland Security Task Force Investigation https://t.co/si3qsk0pS5
USA Gordon: “Put directly, cocaine is now the lifeblood of the cartels,… pic.twitter.com/oskFhmMjRK— US Attorney CAS (@SDCAnews) June 1, 2026
On the same day, Mexico’s Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced a tunnel discovery at a property in Tijuana’s Nueva Tijuana neighborhood, along with ammunition, suspected methamphetamine, marijuana, and documents. The FGR described the site as a trafficking logistics center and said the tunnel likely connects to a well-known San Diego street.
Federal authorities have logged 99 cross-border tunnels since 1993, of which 28 are classified as sophisticated. The discovery is the first in Southern California since 2022.
