A 23-year-old U.S. Marine is in federal custody after being accused of running a high-stakes black market operation from one of the nation's most secure military bases.
Corporal Andrew Paul Amarillas, an ammunition technician at Camp Pendleton, was indicted by a federal grand jury following a major investigation into missing military gear.
Authorities say Amarillas treated the base’s high-tech armory like his own shop, stealing powerful weapons and millions of rounds of ammo to sell in his home state of Arizona.
The criminal case currently stands as a primary security alarm for the military. Its primary mandate involves recovering Javelin missile systems, which are sophisticated "fire-and-forget" weapons designed to destroy heavy tanks from miles away.
While federal agents have managed to track down some of the stolen gear, they are still hunting for a massive amount of missing supplies.
_ _“Treating a military armory like a personal pawn shop,” as one report described it, has led to a "terrifying haul" of war equipment ending up in the hands of unindicted co-conspirators.
The theft will also absorb and expand upon the mystery of nearly 2 million rounds of M855 ammunition that are reportedly unaccounted for.
A critical component of the "spicy" details revealed in court documents is the sheer speed of the operation; investigators say Amarillas stole and sold 66 cans of rifle ammunition in just two weeks.
Prosecutors allege he offered at least 25,000 rounds to a single buyer in a single deal.
One federal agent cited the "ammunition technician" role as the primary reason Amarillas was able to bypass security, as his job gave him direct access to the base's inventory logs.
One of the most immediate challenges for federal investigators is finding where the rest of the M855 rounds ended up.
Observers cited the "black market" demand for military-grade ammo as the primary reason the investigation has expanded into Arizona companies that may have purchased the stolen goods.
“This was a massive breach of trust,” a military spokesperson stated, noting that Amarillas now faces a "laundry list" of charges, including conspiracy, theft of government property, and the sale of stolen ammunition.
The establishment of this "weapons-for-cash" scheme follows a series of recent security audits at Camp Pendleton that failed to catch the missing missiles.
While Amarillas remains behind bars, the emphasis remains on the two Arizona companies that allegedly bought the gear from middlemen.
Director-level officials at the Department of Justice pledged to continue the search for the missing 2 million rounds until the "last bullet is found."
As the corporal awaits his day in court, the question remains: “How many more Javelin missiles are sitting in private garages because of a single technician’s greed?”, a question that has the Marine Corps racing to tighten the locks on every armory in the country.