Overview
- Mexican federal agents discovered a tunnel entrance in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood during a Saturday search of a property believed to be a storage and logistics site for trafficking.
- U.S. Homeland Security investigators had surveilled a fake Otay Mesa storefront called Buy 4 Less for months and stopped vehicles last Friday that led to the seizure of 851 packages of suspected cocaine totaling about 2,406 pounds.
- Prosecutors announced charges Monday against four men tied to the operation after agents found the tunnel exit hidden beneath the store and secured evidence for parallel U.S. and Mexican cases.
- U.S. prosecutors describe the passage as roughly 1,933 feet long and 55 feet deep with lighting, ventilation and a hydraulic rail system, while Mexico’s attorney general reported a roughly 265‑meter segment about 21 feet deep, reflecting different measurement scopes.
- The operation, one of nearly 100 tunnels found in the Southern District of California since 1993, underscores sustained cartel use of engineered subterranean routes and is likely to drive further binational investigations and prosecutions.