The largest-ever seizure in a single operation was made at Eagle Pass last week, according to customs officials.
A tractor-trailer referred for a secondary inspection at the Camino Real International Bridge on February 18 was allegedly found to be carrying over 6.5 tons of methamphetamine, according to a news release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The haul of this very addictive synthetic stimulant had an estimated street value of $117.1 million.
Donald Kusser, director of field operations at the Laredo Field Office, referred to the seizure as “gargantuan” and credited CBP officers for using their “technological enforcement tools, expertise, and experience to zero in on these threats,” per a press release.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, the CBP team at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo found 164.72 pounds of powdered methamphetamine, 165.34 pounds of cocaine, and 854.07 pounds of crystallized methamphetamine in a shipment of flowers in early January. The month saw a total of 35,915.67 pounds of illicit substances being intercepted at the southern border by CBP.
At Eagle Pass, where the latest large-scale seizure was made, Gov. Greg Abbott and 22 members of the Texas House of Representatives convened earlier this month to discuss the state’s efforts to curb unlawful migrant crossings, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.
Yet, as the governor explained, Operation Lone Star’s efforts also include curbing the traffic of drugs, with the Texas Department of Public Safety claiming to have intercepted more than 458 million doses of fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid.
In North Texas, which has become a sort of hub for drug trafficking, a partnership between the sheriff’s departments in Collin, Tarrant, Wise, Smith, Hunt, Parker, Rockwall, and Grayson Counties called the North Texas Criminal Interdiction Unit (NTCIU) recently held a press conference to highlight its war on drugs and organized crime.
As covered in The Dallas Express, NTCIU deputies target the key highway corridors used for the transportation of drugs, guns, unlawful migrants, and victims of human trafficking. Since the unit’s inception in 2018, it has seized approximately 7,913 pounds of marijuana, 6,048 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,003 pounds of cocaine, 365 pounds of heroin, and 103 pounds of fentanyl.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 106,699 drug overdose deaths occurred in 2021 alone. Opioids were responsible for 75.4% of these fatalities.