San Diego ‘Buy 4 Less’ Store Uncovers $45 Million Cocaine Tunnel to Mexico

Federal investigators uncovered a sophisticated underground tunnel stretching roughly 2,000 feet (about 900–1,900 feet according to various reports) from Tijuana, Mexico, to the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California. The passage, located about 21–55 feet below ground, was equipped with reinforced walls, ventilation, electricity, a rail system and a hydraulic lift. It was hidden beneath the floor of a discount retailer called “Buy 4 Less.”

During a coordinated operation by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, and Mexico’s Federal Attorney General’s Office, agents seized more than a ton of cocaine—over 2,269 pounds (approximately 1,030 kg) valued at about $45 million—along with weapons, ammunition, methamphetamine, and other contraband. Four individuals were charged: Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez (San Diego), Jose Jimenez (San Diego), Brandon Escalante Sandoval (Mexico) and Antonio Cortez (Mexico). U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said, “For these defendants, it wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. It was lights and sirens.” The operation was described as a “significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.”

The discovery follows a history of 99 tunnels uncovered in Southern California since 1993, highlighting the ongoing challenge of sophisticated cross‑border drug trafficking.