{"id":838918,"date":"2026-06-02T10:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/838918\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T10:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:40:19","slug":"massive-secret-tunnel-discovered-under-fake-socal-store-feds-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/838918\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive secret tunnel discovered under fake SoCal store, feds say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Underneath a seemingly unassuming \u201cBuy 4 Less\u201d store in a San Diego County neighborhood hid a sprawling secret \u2014 a tunnel 55 feet deep and nearly 2,000 feet long that was used to smuggle some $45 million worth of cocaine from Mexico to California, prosecutors allege.<\/p>\n

The subterranean passageway in Otay Mesa, complete with reinforced walls, a rail system, ventilation and electricity, is believed to have been operated by the Jalisco New Generation cartel<\/a> and was discovered by a Homeland Security task force last week, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

On Monday, four men were charged with participating in a scheme to use the tunnel to traffic massive amounts of narcotics into America.<\/p>\n

Homeland Security investigators began paying close attention to the Buy 4 Less in December when they observed suspicious activity around the store. <\/p>\n

A new group of seven or eight \u201cemployees\u201d was seen regularly going in and out of the building carrying a large number of suitcases. Customers, on the other hand, did not appear to be frequenting the business, prosecutors said. <\/p>\n

On Friday, agents observed a man loading heavy items into a van outside the store and then driving to a nearby mechanic\u2019s shop. Another man, identified as 26-year-old Brandon Escalante Sandoval of Mexico, was seen riding around on a bicycle conducting surveillance, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Escalante Sandoval then approached the parked van, removed a key concealed in the gas cap and backed it up, allowing a group of people to move three deep freezers from the van into the bed of the truck and load them with packages.<\/p>\n

Another man, identified as 32-year-old Jose Jimenez of San Diego, drove away in the loaded truck, prosecutors said. San Diego County sheriff\u2019s deputies conducted a traffic stop, and a police dog alerted deputies to the presence of controlled substances.<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, agents saw two men exit Buy 4 Less with heavy boxes and load them into a second truck. Prosecutors said another man, identified as 29-year-old Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez of San Diego, drove that truck away. Deputies once again conducted a traffic stop, and a police dog sniffed out illicit substances. A third vehicle, driven by 18-year-old Antonio Cortez of Mexico, was also stopped nearby and further contraband was found inside, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Investigators confiscated a total of 851 packages from the three vehicles with a combined weight of more than a ton. A sample of the substance in the packages taken in the field tested positive for cocaine, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

After confiscating the alleged drugs, investigators secured a search warrant to enter the Buy 4 Less, where they uncovered the secret tunnel. <\/p>\n

The passageway is accessed using a \u201csophisticated hydraulic lift\u201d and extends from Otay Mesa, underneath the U.S.-Mexico border and into Tijuana. <\/p>\n

Tunnels are a known method used to smuggle narcotics<\/a> across the border. There have been 99 subterranean passages discovered in the Southern District of California since 1993, according to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n

However, the scale and sophistication of the passageway discovered under the Buy 4 Less was particularly notable, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investigation and seizure represent a significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,\u201d said Kevin Murphy, acting special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, in a statement Monday. \u201cThe discovery and dismantlement of this sophisticated cross-border tunnel, along with the seizure of more than a ton of cocaine, underscore the commitment and collaboration of Homeland Security Investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hernandez Lopez is charged with conspiracy to use a cross-border tunnel, conspiracy to import controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Jimenez, Escalante Sandoval and Cortez are each charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Each count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10-million fine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Underneath a seemingly unassuming \u201cBuy 4 Less\u201d store in a San Diego County neighborhood hid a sprawling secret…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":838919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[2322,5229,1582,276,79726,49410,7726,2089,2222,19592,121922,6617,3549,7264,25883,40031,39899,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,2328],"class_list":["post-838918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-agent","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-cocaine","tag-conspiracy","tag-deputy","tag-man","tag-mexico","tag-narcotic","tag-package","tag-prosecutor","tag-san-diego","tag-sandiego","tag-substance","tag-truck","tag-tunnel","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-van"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116680093025375028","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}