VIDEO: US Marines Arrested During Battalion Formation At Camp Pendleton
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Dramatic new video captures the moment when more than a dozen U.S. Marines were arrested at Camp Pendleton as part of a human smuggling investigation.
Three video clips obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune show the July 25 arrest of Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, during battalion formation as military police took the suspects into custody.
Authorities told the newspaper the full video would not be released to "protect the rights of the accused."
The suspects face various charges ranging from human smuggling to drug crimes, the Marine Corps said. The arrests were prompted by information obtained during a previous human smuggling investigation.
Two suspects were initially arrested in July after after officials said they were allegedly caught in the act of picking up three undocumented immigrants from Mexico.
According to court documents, the three migrants told investigators they were paying $8,000 to be smuggled to Los Angeles or New Jersey. One of the Marines told authorities he was expecting to make $1,000 for his role in the operations. One of the suspects said he'd made similar pickups previously.
Thirteen Marines in all face human smuggling and conspiracy charges, The Union-Tribune reported.