Four people, including two Mexican nationals and two U.S. citizens, were arrested on federal charges for trafficking more than $45 million worth of cocaine through an elaborate cross-border tunnel and bogus retail store in San Diego.
Federal agents discovered the nearly 2,000-foot-long border tunnel connecting San Diego and Tijuana after a Homeland Security Task Force launched a federal drug investigation back in December based on suspicious activity.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Southern California announced on Monday that four people were arrested related to the distribution of more than a ton of cocaine from the retail store, which was really a front for drug trafficking.
BUSTED: Homeland Security Task Force Uncovers Sophisticated Cartel Tunnel, Seizes Over One Ton of Cocaine Worth $45 Million Near Southern Border — Four Charged with Trafficking | Jim Hᴏft, The Gateway Pundit
The Trump administration’s renewed focus on border security and cartel… https://t.co/rPnTw9AoXS pic.twitter.com/8lXN1SSQPQ
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) June 4, 2026
On May 29, federal agents obtained a search warrant for the business following several traffic stops and drug seizures stemming from the location.
Authorities allege the tunnel was used to transport drugs between the two countries, with the tunnel’s U.S. exit point inside a Buy 4 Less store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
“For these defendants, it wasn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. It was lights and sirens,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon in the Southern District of California.
The four men facing federal charges include Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, 29, of San Diego; Brandon Escalante Sandoval, 26, of Mexico; Jose Jimenez, 32, of San Diego; and Antonio Cortez, 18, of Mexico.
Prosecutors allege the defendants were driving vehicles loaded with drugs before being stopped by agents, which led to the discovery of the tunnel. If convicted, the four defendants could face life in prison and a $10 million fine.
Hernandez Lopez is charged with conspiracy to use a cross-border tunnel and conspiracy to import controlled substances. All four are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Federal investigators searched the business and found the tunnel’s access hidden beneath the floor of a storage room. The tunnel was 55 feet deep underground and 4.5-feet in height, with reinforced walls, ventilation systems, electricity and a rail system to transport drugs.
This is the latest of several major drug busts by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies in southern California in recent months.
“Make no mistake. Had the cartel been successful, thousands of pounds of dangerous drugs would have been distributed throughout the entire country and beyond,” said U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre during a news conference.
Investigators said the seizure represent a significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and highlights the work of multiple local, state and federal agents to dismantle these sophisticated cartel networks.
“HSI Special Agents and task force members worked tirelessly to disrupt the flow of dangerous narcotics into our communities, and we remain steadfast in our mission to protect the public and keep our communities safe,” said Kevin Murphy, acting Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Diego.
Investigators from Homeland Security Investigations Tunnel Task Force monitored the Buy 4 Less warehouse from December 2025 to May 2026 due to suspicious activity there, according to the federal complaint.
In December 2025, federal investigators noticed a new group of “employees” at the location. The activity around the Buy 4 Less store “did not appear to be consistent with a normal retail location,” according to the DOJ.
Investigators said they rarely saw foot traffic from customers coming in and out of the Buy 4 Less store.
Hernandez and the other “employees” were seen carrying large numbers of suitcases out of the store and into vehicles or walking the suitcases across the border into Mexico, which law enforcement said appeared to be empty, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
On May 29, the case broke open after San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies stopped a van and two trucks that either departed Buy 4 Less or received cargo from a vehicle that had left the store.
K9 police dogs alerted to the presence of controlled substances in all of the vehicles, the complaint states.
Inside the three vehicles, agents found a combined 2,269.87 pounds of cocaine in more than 850 packages, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
One sting led them to a mechanic shop in the 900 block of Coolidge Avenue. Investigators observed a male on a bicycle, later identified as defendant Brandon Escalante, conducting counter surveillance in the area.
Escalante allegedly got into the van and reversed it into the mechanic shop’s parking lot, where it was backed up to another white van with the rear doors from both vans open.
Agents then reportedly watched people remove three deep freezers from the first van and place them onto the bed of a white stake bed truck, then load the deep freezers with packages, the complaint states.
Court documents indicate Escalante drove the truck back out onto the street and parked a short distance away. He then put the keys under the truck and rode away before another man, later identified as Defendant Jimenez, grabbed the keys and drove away in the truck.
Back at Buy 4 Less, agents allegedly saw two unidentified males take heavy boxes out of the store and load them into a second truck. Hernandez got the second truck and drove away.
A U.S. Magistrate Judge signed warrants on May 29 authorizing searches at Buy 4 Less and 923½ Coolidge Avenue. At Buy 4 Less, agents found the exit point of the underground tunnel, concealed under the floor of a storage room within the store.
Authorities said the tunnel extended roughly 1,064 feet from its exit point at Buy 4 Less to the U.S./Mexico International Border, and they estimated it continues for another 800 feet to its entry point in Mexico.
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. Of those, 28 were considered sophisticated, NBC 7 San Diego reported.
