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Group charged with selling military gear meant for U.S. combat troops


3:50 p.m. February 22, 2006

SAN DIEGO – Authorities dismantled a group made up of Marines and civilians who allegedly stole ballistic vests and other items from Camp Pendleton and destined for U.S. troops in Iraq, federal officials said Wednesday.
Some of the ballistic vests were later resold via the Internet and illegally exported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents posing an international arms merchants, ICE officials said.

Thus far, nine individuals, including several enlisted U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton, have been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation, according to ICE.

Several additional suspects in the investigation are believed to be serving with the U.S. military in Iraq, federal officials said.

"At a time when our troops in Iraq need all the body armor they can get, it is extremely troubling to see bulletproof vests destined for those troops being stolen from our military bases at home for resale to the public," said ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers.

"It is even more troubling that individuals would try to sell these items for profit to people they believed were international arms dealers," she said.

Among those arrested was Vista resident and civilian Erika Jardine, who was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Pennsylvania to six months incarceration, 250 hours of community service per year for two years and fined $6,500.

ICE agents in Philadelphia launched their investigation of Jardine in June 2004, after she was discovered selling controlled U.S. technology to bidders on the Internet via eBay, ICE officials said.

Defense Criminal Investigative Service agents targeting the illegal sale of Small Arms Protective Inserts and Outer Tactical Vests were the first to discover Jardine's activities.

During an undercover ICE probe, Jardine knowingly sold and illegally exported 18 of the stolen military ballistic vests to ICE agents, who told her they were arms merchants based overseas, officials said.

Information developed from the Jardine case led agents to several Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton who had previously sold both SAPIs and OTVs to Jardine, authorities said.

ICE, DCIS and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents began working with the North County Regional Gang Task Force in San Diego to target civilians and members of the military who were involved in the possession and distribution of stolen government property.

The subsequent investigation at Camp Pendleton, led by NCIS, focused on identifying the amount and type of U.S. military gear being stolen. It also sought to take immediate, proactive measures to disrupt the illegal activity and reduce the impact of the thefts on the operational readiness of Camp Pendleton troops preparing for combat deployments in Iraq and other locations.

In total, the NCIS investigation at Camp Pendleton has identified a dozen U.S. Marine Corps suspects, as well as several civilians, and additional arrests are expected, ICE officials said.