Suspected underground drug tunnel discovered in San Diego

Authorities have found a tunnel that appears to link Tijuana and San Diego, likely used for smuggling drugs, weapons, and people across the U.S.-Mexico border. During the operation, officials seized an estimated $45 million worth of drugs.

In a separate incident, federal agents uncovered over 1,000 pounds of cocaine hidden under the floorboards of a commercial truck entering the U.S. from Mexico, marking one of this year’s largest drug busts in Southern California.

The Justice Department revealed that half a ton of cocaine was located within the wooden flooring of a truck and flatbed trailer at the Calexico port of entry on the California-Mexico border. The street value of the cocaine is calculated to be over $20 million.

This seizure is said to be the second-largest cocaine bust in the Southern District of California this year, according to federal prosecutors.

The truck was being driven by 44-year-old Mexican national Jose Manuel Lopez, who was arrested for importing cocaine into the United States. If found guilty, he could face a minimum of 10 years and up to a life sentence in federal prison.

Prosecutors described the seizure as “an enormous amount of narcotics, even by the standards of this district” in a court filing recommending Lopez’s detention.

In May, the only significant cocaine seizure this year prior to this case involved finding over a ton of cocaine—valued at around $45 million—connected to a cross-border drug tunnel.

The trailer was carrying 269 bundles of rebar when Customs and Border Protection agents, working alongside Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, noticed something unusual during an X-ray check.

After a drug detection dog alerted to the trailer, officers unloaded the rebar and dismantled the floorboards, uncovering 366 boxes of cocaine weighing over 1,000 pounds.

Lopez pleaded not guilty during his first federal court appearance and a detention hearing is set for August 3.