16 Marines arrested on human smuggling and drug-related allegations
‘It was an eye-opening thing for the rest of the battalion’
CAMP PENDLETON – Sixteen Marines were pulled out of a battalion formation on base, Thursday morning, July 25, and were arrested for their alleged involvement in migrant smuggling and on drug-related charges, officials said.
The incident occurred at 7:30 a.m. at Camp San Mateo, where the 1st Batallion/5th Marine Regiment headquarters are located. Each Marine was called forward individually and then arrested by agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who worked alongside 1st Marine Division command.
Charges have not been filed yet, but the Marines remain in NCIS custody.
Eight other Marines also were called out of formation and will be investigated for their involvement in alleged drug offenses that are unrelated to Thursday’s arrests.
“It was an eye-opening thing for the rest of the battalion,” said 1st. Lt. Cameron Edinburgh with the 1st Marine Division. “It had a shock and awe factor. The command wanted to send a message to make clear this type of behavior is not tolerated.”
The incident follows the arrests this month of two other Marines from the same battalion who were accused of smuggling migrants from Mexico into the U.S. The Marines arrested Thursday, who appear to be connected with the same smuggling ring, are not among those serving on the Southwest Border Support Mission, Edinburgh said.
Lance Cpl. Byron Darnell Law II and Lance Cpl. David Javier Salazarquintero, both riflemen in the battalion, were arraigned July 8 on charges of transporting three migrants for financial gain.
The two Marines were arrested July 3 after Border Patrol agents stopped a black car on Interstate 8, about seven miles north and 20 miles east of the Tecate port of entry, according to documents filed July 5 in U.S. District Court. The agents had been checking “lay-up spots” when one saw the car pulled over on a dirt road. The agent believed the car could be preparing to pick up suspected migrants, the documents said.
Inside the car, agents found five people. The driver and the front passenger told Border Patrol agents they were Marines based at Camp Pendleton. The three people in the back seat identified themselves as Mexican nationals, all without the immigration papers needed to allow them entry into the U.S., according to court documents. All five were arrested.
Edinburgh said the earlier case differs from Thursday’s arrests in that Salazar-quintero and Law were arrested by Border Patrol agents and processed through civilian authorities. The case of the 16 Marines taken into custody Thursday will be investigated by NCIS.
The additional eight Marines are being questioned by NCIS agents.
Though information on the identities of the Marines has not been released, their enlisted ranks range from private first-class to corporal, Edinburgh said.