Overview
- Federal agents say the probe of a fake Otay Mesa store called Buy 4 Less culminated Friday, May 29, with traffic stops that recovered about 1,029 kilograms of cocaine and led to a search that exposed a nearly 1,900‑foot tunnel and four federal arrests.
- Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República announced a separate discovery in Nueva Tijuana of an approximately 265‑meter tunnel that reached about 21 feet underground and appeared to extend toward a San Diego street, with evidence turned to Baja California prosecutors.
- Investigators on both sides described the passages as highly engineered, reporting lighting, ventilation, reinforced walls, an electric rail or sliding mechanism and a hydraulic lift that would move cargo between countries.
- U.S. prosecutors allege the Buy 4 Less operation was tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the four charged defendants face drug and tunnel‑related counts, and Homeland Security Investigations says its Tunnel Task Force led months of surveillance before the arrests.
- Tunnels have long been used in the Baja–California corridor and officials say these coordinated seizures and cross‑border work are a major operational blow while both investigations remain active and could affect future cartel logistics and local public safety.