Camp Pendleton: Marines arrested in July accused of smuggling

Thirteen Marines from Camp Pendleton have been charged with a smuggling operation, the Marine Corps announced Friday. They face charges ranging from drunkenness and noncompliance with larceny and perjury orders.

Among the Marines charged, two were arrested by Border Patrol officers on July 3 for transporting three undocumented immigrants. These two Marines, Lance Corporal Byron D. Law and Lance Corporal David J. Salazar-Quintero, were charged with transportation and conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants.

Ten other Marines also belonging to the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division were arrested by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) during the formation of the battalion on July 25 for their alleged involvement in the traffic. of human beings and drug-related offenses, said the Corps. .

Another navy belonging to the 1st Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division was arrested by the Border Patrol on 10 July, the body said.

The Marine Corps said none of the defendants had been assigned to military support along the southwestern border.

The investigation into the alleged network of human traffickers began after the two sharpshooters were arrested. Law and Salazar-Quintero were initially charged in federal court, but the case has since been handed over to the Marine Corps.