More than $45 million of methamphetamine has been seized in a drug bust in Texas.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said its Dallas division made the biggest methamphetamine seizure in North Texas history after finding the drugs in a hidden compartment of an 18-wheeler off Interstate 35 in Denton County.
“It’s a staggering amount to be seized at one time,” Eduardo Chavez, the special agent in charge for DEA Dallas, told local TV station WFAA. “They were like sausage links.”
In total, more than 1,930 pounds of meth stuffed into 663 packages were pulled from the vehicle.
The DEA said the amount seized in Dallas equated to 20 percent of all the meth found in 2020.
“I see a lot of lives saved when we can stack up kilograms of drugs like this on a table,” Chavez said. “Unfortunately, methamphetamine is one of the largest threats in North Texas, so we would anticipate that a lot of it was destined for the market here.”
Authorities believe the drugs may have come from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG. The Mexican cartel’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho, is one of the most wanted drug lords, with the DEA offering a $10 million reward for his capture.
“No doubt, this got his attention. A seizure like this, he most likely got a phone call,” Chavez said. “We take one of these seizures and try to expand the network, try to identify perhaps what other ones have gotten through.”
The seizure took place on October 8, but the DEA is only now sharing the details. Officials are still not naming the people arrested in case this hinders future drug busts.
“We still have more targets in our sights,” Chavez said. “At this point, we want to not give up those opportunities because when we come, we’d like for it to be a surprise.”
Source: mexicoinstitute.wordpress.com
