Drones—along with other new technologies and security strategies—are helping Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard intensifying their efforts to secure the border and combat the smuggling of drugs, weapons and people into the Lone Star State.
On Friday, Abbott praised the effective use of drones in securing the southern border in a press release, following a large seizure of narcotics.
In an operation that took place last week, a Texas National Guard drone team helped law enforcement seize more than 127 pounds of narcotics. The team detected a group of migrants illegally crossing the Rio Grande and attempting to hide packages in dense vegetation. A second drone team provided additional support and tracking. As the Texas National Guard Brush Operations Team arrived, its members worked with other law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspected drug traffickers and recover the smuggled narcotics, according to Abbott’s office.
The governor’s office first informed the public about the addition of drones at the border in August of this year, without much update on the impact or effectivity of the drones until now.
However, Abbott posted an update on social media last week, claiming, “Illegal crossings in Texas have decreased 87%, yet they continue to increase in other border states.”
“Texas is stepping up to secure our border and protect our communities, and our nation,” he added.
The state’s enhanced security efforts have been a product of implementing “Operation Lone Star,” an organized effort by multiple Texas law enforcement agencies and officials aimed at securing the southern border and combating illegal smuggling operations.
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency operation has resulted in more than 521,100 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 47,400 criminal arrests, including over 41,000 felony charges, according to the governor’s office.
Additionally, Texas’ law enforcement has seized over 544 million lethal doses of fentanyl, which could be enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico combined.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Abbott reaffirmed a past disaster proclamation on border security in a press release published in April.
Less than two weeks after the proclamation in April, Abbott posted a video on social media, saying, “Texas won’t back down. We are using every tool available to secure the border in [President Joe] Biden’s absence.”