'Buy 4 Less' Drug Tunnel Discovery In San Diego County Leads To Multiple Arrests

SAN DIEGO, CA — A nearly 2,000-foot-long tunnel stretching from Tijuana to Otay Mesa was shut down by law enforcement officials recently, leading to the arrest of four people on federal drug distribution charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, 29, of San Diego; Jose Jimenez, 32, of San Diego; Antonio Cortez, 18, of Mexico; and Brandon Escalante Sandoval, 26, of Mexico have all been charged with crimes, accused of being seen driving the vehicles in question prior to being stopped by agents, and multiple other charges.

Over six months of surveillance, officers noted suspicious activity at the San Diego County "Buy 4 Less" storefront.

Starting in December, investigators watched groups of "supposed employees" in and around the store, though the location that did not appear to be consistent with a normal retail location. They also noted there was "minimal foot traffic from customers coming in and out of the Buy 4 Less store," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in a released statement.

Last Friday, agents stopped a van and two trucks that either departed "Buy 4 Less" or received cargo from a vehicle that had left the store.

Agents found a combined 2,269.87 pounds of cocaine in more than 850 packages inside the three vehicles, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The "Buy 4 Less" storefront was searched, revealing the tunnel's exit point, which was hidden beneath the floor of a storage room.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says the tunnel is about 55 feet deep and extends 1,064 feet from the store to the U.S.-Mexico border, then is estimated to extend another 800 feet to its entry point. The tunnel is accessed by "a sophisticated hydraulic lift" and is equipped with electricity and ventilation, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the tunnel is one of 99 discovered in the Southern District of California since 1993, and the first since 2022.