WASHINGTON - New footage from the US Marines Corps Communication Office shows the arrest of 15 Marines by dozens of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents earlier this year following an investigation into a human smuggling ring at the US-Mexico border.
On July 25, approximately 800 US Marines of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment were assembled at the Camp San Mateo section of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California, for a special recognition ceremony highlighting 15 of their peers.
While the select group of Marines may have thought they were about to receive an award or honor, 5th Regiment Sgt. Major Matthew A. Dorsey quickly dismissed those thoughts when he pointed at the service members and said, “NCIS, arrest these Marines,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune link . [image: Loading video]
This mass arrest, reported by Sputnik link back in July, came three weeks after Lance Corporals David Javier Salazar-Quintero and Byron Darnell Law II were arrested link on accusations of illegally transporting immigrants across the US-Mexico border “for financial gain.”
“We are aware of the charges facing Lance Cpl. Law and Lance Cpl. Salazar-Quintero, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigative efforts into this matter,” Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Cameron Edinburgh told the Marine Corps Times after the July 3 arrest of the pair.
That cooperation ultimately led to the arrest conducted by some 40 NCIS agents and recorded by the USMC, according to a statement from the Marine Corps.
“It was an eye-opening thing for the rest of the battalion,” Edinburgh told the OC Register link on July 25. “It had a shock and awe factor. The command wanted to send a message to make clear this type of behavior is not tolerated.” - Sputnik