Underneath a seemingly unassuming “Buy 4 Less” store in a San Diego County neighborhood hid a sprawling secret — a tunnel 55 feet deep and nearly 2,000 feet long that was used to smuggle some $45 million worth of cocaine from Mexico to California, prosecutors allege.
The subterranean passageway in Otay Mesa, complete with reinforced walls, a rail system, ventilation and electricity, is believed to have been operated by the Jalisco New Generation cartel and was discovered by a Homeland Security task force last week, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
On Monday, four men were charged with participating in a scheme to use the tunnel to traffic massive amounts of narcotics into America…