Texas state troopers caught 3.1 million lethal fentanyl doses during a single traffic stop in the border town of Mission, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Governor Greg Abbott said that during a single traffic stop in the border town of Mission, Texas state police found 3.1 million lethal fentanyl doses. (Photo: (Texas Gov. Greg Abbott)
3.1 Million of Fentanyl in a Traffic Stop
The lethal fentanyl doses which have a street worth of about $312,000, were one of the biggest seizures made by Texas state troopers in Operation Lone Star so far. Abbott started this program in 2021 to fight crime in border towns. Mario Reyna Cantu, a Mexican citizen who is 39 years old and was driving a black Cadillac SUV on Monday, was stopped by police because he had broken a traffic law.
During the stop, Texas state troopers found five bundles of white powder that was found to be positive for lethal fentanyl doses at the scene and crime lab of the state Department of Public Safety. Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a statement that because of this single seizure, millions of lethal fentanyl doses will not make their way into communities across the state, and country, and millions of lives are potentially saved.
Reyna Cantu was then put in the Hidalgo County Jail because she was caught with drugs.
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Lethal Fentanyl Doses Captured in Texas
The latest phase of the opioid problem in the rest of the U.S., including Texas has been caused by lethal fentanyl doses, a powerful drug that is stronger up to 50 times than heroin. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shares a record of 106,699 Americans dying of drug accidents in 2021. About 70% of these deaths were caused by fentanyl.
Abbott says that in the two years since Operation Lone Star began, state police have seized more than 380 million lethal fentanyl doses. Fentanyl comes in powder, pill, and liquid form. It is often mixed with heroin and fake pills to make them stronger.
The Texas House of Representatives decriminalized fentanyl test strips on Tuesday by a vote of 143-2. This is a move that supporters hope will cut down on drug deaths. Customs and Border Protection has already seized 11,000 pounds of fentanyl along the whole southwest border during the first five months of the fiscal year 2023. This is a lot more than the 14,700 pounds of fentanyl that were captured in fiscal year 2022.
READ ALSO: DEA Agents Seized Huge Quantities of Opioid in Arizona
