Scale of crimes in Marines smuggling case at border is ‘unusual’

A total of 18 Marines and one sailor have now been taken into custody in an ongoing crackdown on alleged drug and human smuggling at the southwest border.

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A total of 18 Marines and one sailor have now been taken into custody in an ongoing crackdown on alleged drug and human smuggling at the southwest border. All the service members appear to have been part of a single unit based at Camp Pendleton, California. The investigation started when two of the service members were allegedly caught by the Border Patrol in the middle of transporting someone across the border, and expanded from there. Greg Rinckey, a former JAG attorney who’s now a partner at Tully Rinckey, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin by phone to discuss the case.

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    FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2013 file photo vehicles file through the main gate of Camp Pendleton Marine Base at Camp Pendleton, Calif. A human smuggling investigation by the military led to the arrest of 16 Marines Thursday, July 25, 2019 while carrying out a battalion formation at California's Camp Pendleton, a base about an hour's drive from the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

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