Man accused of constructing cross-border drug tunnel for Mexican cartel indicted – NBC Los Angeles

Man accused of constructing cross-border drug tunnel for Mexican cartel indicted  NBC Los Angeles

A federal grand jury indicted a man Thursday on charges that he designed and constructed a cross-border drug tunnel for the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva… A federal grand jury indicted a man Thursday on charges that he designed and constructed a cross-border drug tunnel for the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), the U.S. Department of Justice announced. On Oct. 15, Mexican authorities in the state of Jalisco arrested 60-year-old Guadalajara resident Luis Manuel Hernandez Victoria, also known as El Ingeniero, which translates to The Engineer, according to the DOJ. He has been charged with conspiracy to construct or finance a cross-border tunnel, conspiracy to use a cross-border tunnel to import controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, the tunnel was found inside a retail store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego on May 29 and was constructed for the benefit of the CJNG. The Trump administration designated the CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization last year. During the discovery, more than 1 ton of cocaine worth over $45 million was seized, officials said. The tunnel allegedly spans from Tijuana, Mexico, to the retail store known as “Buy 4 Less." It's approximately 1,933 feet long, 55 feet deep and 4.5