SAN DIEGO – Four people have been charged with trafficking more than $45 million worth of cocaine after authorities discovered a tunnel stretching from Tijuana, Mexico to a fake retail store in San Diego’s Otay Mesa area. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the subterranean passageway led to “Buy 4 Less,” and stretched around 1,933 feet long and reached a depth of approximately 55 feet. Officials said the passageway featured reinforced walls, a rail system, ventilation, electricity and a hydraulic lift, making it one of the most sophisticated smuggling tunnels found along the Southern California border in recent years.
According to a federal complaint, investigators from the Homeland Security Investigations’ Tunnel Task Force began monitoring the warehouse in December 2025 after noticing suspicious activity inconsistent with a legitimate retail business. Agents say they didn’t see many customers but reported frequent movement among people who appeared to be employees.
Among those observed was Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, who investigators said regularly visited the building beginning in early 2026. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, surveillance teams watched Hernandez and others move large suitcases in and out of the store and transport them to vehicles or across the border into Mexico. The suitcases appeared empty, prompting authorities to continue monitoring rather than intervene.
The investigation culminated on May 29 when agents say they observed several people loading heavy items into vehicles linked to the warehouse. Authorities said Brandon Escalante Sandoval conducted counter-surveillance on a bicycle while others transferred deep freezers between vehicles at a nearby property on Coolidge Avenue.
Investigators watched as packages were loaded into the freezers and transported away in trucks and vans. San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies later stopped the vehicles, and drug-detection dogs indicated there were drugs inside.
Authorities say they recovered a total of 851 packages from the vehicles, weighing approximately 2,269 pounds, well over a ton. Field tests indicated the packages contained cocaine.
Following the seizures, federal agents obtained search warrants for the warehouse and the Coolidge Avenue property. During the search of Buy 4 Less, investigators said they discovered the tunnel’s U.S. exit point concealed beneath the floor of a storage room.
Officials said the tunnel extended roughly 1,064 feet from the warehouse to the international border and continued an estimated 800 feet into Mexico. In some sections, the tunnel stood as high as 4.5 feet and was equipped with electrical wiring and ventilation systems.
Hernandez Lopez of San Diego, Escalante Sandoval of Mexico, Jose Jimenez of San Diego and Antonio Cortez of Mexico have been arrested. Hernandez Lopez faces charges of conspiracy to use a cross-border tunnel and conspiracy to import controlled substances. All four defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 99 underground passages have been discovered in the Southern District of California since 1993, including 28 considered sophisticated. The last operational smuggling tunnel uncovered in the Southern District of California was in 2022.
