Sixteen Marines at Camp Pendleton in California were rounded up at a battalion formation and arrested on human smuggling and drug charges.
The Marines involved in the Thursday arrests were part of the 1st Marine Division and were detained for “alleged involvement in various illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses,” according to a statement from the Marine Corps.
An additional eight Marines were also questioned for their involvement in alleged drug-based offenses.
Thursday’s roundup is linked to the July 3 arrests of Lance Cpl. Byron Law and Lance Cpl. David Javier Salazar-Quintero, who were pulled over by Border Patrol officers who found three undocumented migrants in the backseat of their vehicle. The duo was allegedly trying to make money by smuggling people from Mexico into the U.S.
