CJNG Narco Tunnel Discovered in San Diego Storefront, Over 1 Ton of Cocaine Seized – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Pixabay)
Otay Mesa – A storefront called Buy 4 Less sat quietly just north of the border crossing, its sparse customer traffic and handful of men coming and going drawing little notice at first. Federal agents began watching the site in December 2025 after it replaced an auto registration business, and their surveillance soon revealed patterns that pointed far beyond ordinary retail. The location turned out to be the American end of a tunnel that stretched nearly 2,000 feet underground from a house in Nueva Tijuana.
Months of Watching the Storefront
Agents with the Homeland Security Investigations Tunnel Task Force tracked activity at the site through the winter and spring. They noted roughly seven or eight men regularly present, including Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez of San Diego, who appeared there starting in January 2026. The group handled large numbers of suitcases that appeared empty, loading them into vehicles or carrying them across the nearby border into Mexico.
The store itself showed few signs of normal business. Customer visits remained minimal, and the layout did not match expectations for a working discount retailer. Agents continued their observation without immediate intervention, allowing the pattern to develop over several months.
The May 29 Seizure Operation
On May 29, 2026, agents saw a man load three large, heavy items into a white van at the storefront. The van traveled roughly 18 miles north to an auto shop in National City, where it met another vehicle. Brandon Escalante Sandoval arrived on a bicycle, took the van keys, and backed it into the shop. Three deep freezers were then transferred to a stake-bed truck and filled with packages…