Camp Pendleton breach leads to cocaine and fentanyl bust
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- A routine traffic stop on Interstate 5 escalated into a six-hour manhunt after a driver breached Camp Pendleton’s gates and abandoned a car in base housing.
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents and base personnel tracked two suspects while ordering residents to shelter in place, then discovered 51 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl inside the deserted vehicle.
- The bust on the Oceanside Marine Corps base, home to tens of thousands of service members and families, is now in federal hands, with the suspects facing likely charges.
A traffic stop turned into a six-hour manhunt at a Marine Corps base in San Diego County on Thursday that resulted in the seizure of a considerable amount of cocaine and fentanyl, according to military officials.
The incident began at 5:40 p.m. when deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department tried to make a traffic stop along Interstate 5, according to department spokesperson Sgt. Lizbeth Gwisdalla.
The driver exited the highway, and as a deputy got out of their patrol car to approach the stopped vehicle, the driver drove onto the base.
“Our deputies did not go in, but they let military personnel know that he was on the base,” Gwisdalla said.
The two suspects, who have not been identified, entered the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside through a base gate, according to a press release statement from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The suspects left their vehicle in base housing.
The NCIS launched a search throughout the camp and issued a temporary shelter-in-place order amid the investigation.
Roughly 38,000 military family members occupy base housing complexes, according to the official camp’s website. Daytime populations can reach about 70,000 military and civilian personnel.
About 30 camp personnel tracked the suspects after a six-hour manhunt. During their investigation, authorities found 51 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl inside the runaway vehicle.
Gwisdalla said that federal authorities will oversee the investigation, and the suspects will likely face federal charges.
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