Video shows drug tunnel where over $100 million of cocaine was smuggled. Tunnel had rail system, air conditioning, electricity and hydraulic lift
The Jalisco New Generation drug cartel built a underground tunnel from Tijuana Mexico that went to San Diego, CA into the Buy 4 Less retail store business. Around $100 million of cocaine was smuggled through the drug tunnel. Below video shows the sophistication of the drug tunnel equipped with electricity, rail system, air conditioning, and a hydraulic lift. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
The tunnel is accessed by a sophisticated hydraulic lift for the large amount of drugs. The tunnel was 1,933 feet long, 55 feet deep and 4.5 feet high, with reinforced walls. The exit and entrance point of the tunnel on the American side was inside the Buy 4 Less store in the storage room. Drug tunnels are becoming very popular and effective for drug cartels as a way to bring their drugs into the United States undetected.
The defendants include Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez of San Diego; Brandon Escalante Sandoval of Mexico; Jose Jimenez of San Diego; and Antonio Cortez of Mexico. Hernandez Lopez is charged with Conspiracy to Use a Cross-Border Tunnel and Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances; all are charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances.
According to a federal complaint, investigators from Homeland Security Investigations Tunnel Task Force maintained regular surveillance on the Buy 4 Less warehouse from December 2025 to May 2026 due to suspicious activity there.
In December 2025, a new group of around seven or eight employees at Buy 4 Less were seen at the business. During the surveillance, 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.
The unusual activity included transporting large numbers of suitcases out of the store and into vehicles or walking the suitcases across the border into Mexico. One of the suspects Brandon Escalante Sandoval was seen riding a bike doing counter surveillance looking into nearby vehicles for cameras.
On May 29, 2026, 2 vans and a truck were seen being loaded up with deep freezers and packages. Cops let the vehicles drive off and then pulled each over in traffic stops. Police dogs were brought to the stops and alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicles.
The vehicles were searched and a total of 2,269 pounds of cocaine were found totaling $45 million worth of cocaine. Federal officials then asked a U.S. Magistrate Judge to sign search warrants to search Buy 4 Less.
The warrants were granted and federal agents found the subterranean tunnel concealed under the floor of a storage room within the Buy 4 Less store.
The tunnel was accessed using a sophisticated hydraulic lift and had ladders and steps to a deep drop of 55 feet deep. The tunnel extended from the Buy 4 Less store all the way across the border to Mexico. It is believed $100,000 million dollars of cocaine was moved through the tunnel before federal officials found out about it.
