Federal prosecutors in the United States have indicted four suspects on charges of smuggling more than a ton of cocaine for the Jalisco New Generation cartel, using a fake retail store in San Diego as a cover for a sophisticated cross-border tunnel to Tijuana, Mexico.
The defendants include two Mexican citizens and two U.S. citizens, all charged with conspiracy to traffic drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. The suspects, aged 18 to 32, each face a potential life sentence. One of them, Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, faces an additional charge of “constructing, financing, or using illegal tunnels.”
Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations began monitoring a store called “Buy 4 Less” near the Otay Mesa port of entry last December, according to a federal complaint released Monday. Investigators suspected the store housed a hidden tunnel.
There, they observed behavior “inconsistent with a normal retail store.” For instance, the store had almost no customers; many men entered and exited carrying suitcases, often empty, and sometimes they carried the luggage across the border into Mexico.
On May 29, the group gathered at three vehicles, loading a truck with several freezers stuffed full of packages. San Diego County sheriff's deputies stopped the truck, and a drug-sniffing dog detected narcotics; searches of the other two vehicles also turned up illicit substances.
Police seized a total of more than 1,020 kilograms of cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Federal agents then searched the “Buy 4 Less” store and discovered a tunnel 17 meters deep, accessed by a “sophisticated hydraulic lift.” The tunnel stretched more than 300 meters to the U.S.-Mexico border and is believed to extend an additional 240 meters into Tijuana, Mexico.
The tunnel stands about 1.4 meters high, features a rail-and-cart system, and is equipped with electricity and ventilation.
“This investigation and seizure is a significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation cartel,” said Kevin Murphy, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Diego. “The discovery and dismantling of this sophisticated cross-border tunnel, along with the seizure of more than a ton of cocaine, underscores the commitment and collaboration of the Homeland Security Investigations task force.”
This is the first cross-border tunnel discovered in Southern California since 2022. Since 1993, authorities have found 99 such tunnels, 28 of which were deemed “sophisticated.”
