Massive seizures of drugs were made this past week at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to law enforcement.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced on Monday that over 4,600 pounds of illicit drugs worth over $6 million had been seized in one week. While the majority of this haul was comprised of marijuana, there were also significant amounts of dangerous narcotics, including roughly 328 pounds of methamphetamine, 123 pounds of cocaine, and 32 pounds of fentanyl.
Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill someone, making this potent, highly addictive substance one of the drivers of drug overdose fatalities nationwide. Roughly five Texans die each day as a result of fentanyl poisoning.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, the illegal traffic of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills by Mexican cartels and the establishment of distribution hubs in Texas continues to propel the circulation of this deadly drug.
Earlier this month, Dallas County launched a new website to raise public awareness about the fentanyl crisis, as reported in The Dallas Express. Alongside educational tools for drug prevention, the website provides information on Naloxone. This nasal spray helps reverse the effects of an overdose of fentanyl in two to three minutes.
In Dallas, drug offenses continue to rise, with 9,736 logged as of December 12, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard. This represents a 4.5% increase from the year prior, putting a considerable drain on police resources. The Dallas Police Department remains understaffed, with fewer than 3,200 officers despite a City report calling for approximately 4,000 to sufficiently ensure public safety.
Downtown Dallas bears the brunt of the officer shortage, especially when compared to neighboring Fort Worth’s city center, which is reportedly patrolled by a dedicated neighborhood police unit that works alongside private security guards. A study found that drug violations occurred at a frequency of 41 to 1 in both downtown areas, respectively.
Alongside the recent drug seizures, Owens announced that Border Patrol agents had also apprehended over 20,000 unlawful migrants this past weekend. Six of these individuals were convicted criminals, three being previously found guilty of sex offenses, including the sexual assault of a child, and three being found guilty of organized criminal activity, including theft and drug possession.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, Texas-born Owens was named the successor to Chief Raul Ortiz, who retired in June. Owens has approximately 19,000 Border Patrol agents under his command, as well as law enforcement personnel from Texas and beyond that have been sent to help protect the border.
