OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:07 AM – Tuesday, June 2, 2026
United States and Mexican authorities have uncovered a 2,000-foot-long cross-border tunnel that led to the arrests of four individuals who have been charged with trafficking about $45 million worth of cocaine.
The Southern District of California’s U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the shocking discovery and charges in a press release on Monday.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Task Force conducted a federal investigation of a retail store in Otay Mesa, California, after a complaint of suspicious activity from seven or eight new “employees” was filed in December 2025.
From December to May, investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tunnel Task Force maintained regular surveillance on the Buy 4 Less warehouse, according to the press release. It found that the defendants, Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez of San Diego, Brandon Escalante Sandoval of Mexico, Jose Jimenez of San Diego and Antonio Cortez of Mexico, “engaged in unusual activity such as transporting large numbers of suitcases out of the store and into vehicles.”
“The activity around the Buy 4 Less location did not appear to be consistent with a normal retail location. For example, investigators observed minimal foot traffic from customers coming in and out of the Buy 4 Less store,” U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
According to a complaint, on May 29th, a male was observed loading three large, heavy items onto a white van which departed the store and parked on a street near a mechanic shop located at 923½ Coolidge Ave. A male on a bicycle, identified as Escalante Sandoval, 26, conducted “counter surveillance” by riding around the area and looking into parked cars.
“Escalante later approached the van, removed the vehicle key that had been concealed in the gas cap area, got into the van and reversed it into 923½ Coolidge Avenue. Agents observed that the van was backed up to another white van with the rear doors from both vans open. A white stake bed truck then entered 923½ Coolidge Avenue. Agents watched people remove three deep freezers from the first van and place them onto the bed of the truck, then load the deep freezers with packages,” the press release recounted.
After Escalante Sandoval left on his bicycle, placing the truck’s keys underneath the vehicle’s passenger side, Jimenez, 32, came and drove away in the truck. San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies subsequently conducted a traffic stop of the truck, which led to a K9 police dog search for controlled substances.
A second traffic stop was later conducted on a separate truck driven by Hernandez Lopez, 29, after agents watched Buy 4 Less employees load the vehicle with heavy boxes. A K9 police dog was also alerted to the presence of controlled substances in this instance.
The van was also searched, driven by Cortez, 18, and led to a K9 alert for the presence of controlled substances.
Federal agents found the following during inspections of the three vehicles:
- 173 total packages in one truck, with a total approximate weight of 630.96 pounds
- 423 total packages in the other truck, with a total approximate weight of 1034.84 pounds
- 255 total packages in the van, with a total approximate weight of 604.06 pounds
Samples of the substance contained in the packages tested positive for cocaine, with a total approximate weight of 2,269.87 pounds — well over one ton.
The subterranean passage that began in the “Buy 4 Less” and stretched to Tijuana, Mexico, is estimated to be about 1,933 feet long, 55 feet deep and 4.5 feet in height. The attorney’s office added that it had “reinforced walls, rail and ventilation systems and electricity.”
Hernandez Lopez is charged with Conspiracy to Use a Cross-Border Tunnel and Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances. All four defendants are charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, for which the maximum penalty is life in prison and a $10 million fine. Hernandez Lopez would face an additional maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine if convicted for his other charge.
“This investigation and seizure represent a significant blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The 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 and our Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) partners” said Kevin Murphy, acting Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Diego.
“The San Diego Imperial Valley HIDTA proudly supports federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in their efforts to target transnational criminal organizations who place a priority on proceeds from drug trafficking over human lives,” said David King, Executive Director of San Diego Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). “The drugs recovered from this sophisticated cross border tunnel will thankfully never make it into communities throughout California and the United States thereby saving countless lives from the scourges of drug addiction and overdose deaths.”
The defendants were arraigned by U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie E. Torres on Monday afternoon.
99 subterranean passages have been discovered in the Southern District of California since 1993.
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