DPS seizes half million lethal fentanyl doses in Austin while Legislature in session

(The Center Square) – As the Texas Legislature debated Thursday, Texas Department of Public Safety special agents seized over 507,000 lethal doses of fentanyl in Austin, enough to kill over half a million people.

Early Thursday morning, special agents observed a drug deal and made a felony arrest. DPS SWAT also executed a search warrant and seized 507,000 lethal doses of fentanyl.

They also seized other narcotics, weapons, ammunition, and several stolen vehicles in a bust that was part of a DPS Austin Violent Crimes Task Force operation to assist the Austin Police Department.

They also seized methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, six handguns, 10 rifles, two shotguns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, thermal infrared binoculars, three ballistic vests, and one suppressor. Some of the weapons were stolen; two motorcycles and three box trailers were also stolen, DPS said.

Two people were taken into custody and face federal charges. The defendants told DPS special agents the drugs came from Mexico and the weapons were heading to Mexico later this week.

The bust comes as APD struggles to address rising crime after the Austin City Council in 2020 defunded it by over $150 million. The city instead redirected some of the funding toward community organizers and other staffers. The city has since seen increased crime, with APD struggling to recruit new officers to replace those retiring or resigning. Within a year, the police chief said the department was facing a “dire crisis.” Citizen-led efforts to fund the police through a ballot initiative were defeated by a campaign partially funded by billionaire George Soros and anti-police organizations.

In the last legislative session, the legislature passed a bill the governor signed to penalize local governments that defund their law enforcement agencies by withholding funding. The law was enacted to prevent other cities from suffering the same fate as Austin.

Last month, Gov. Greg Abbot directed DPS to assist the APD. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said the additional resources would help the ADP deal with “unprecedented challenges with staffing levels.”

Since then, DPS’ AVCTF efforts have continued to produce results.

Abbott said he was “proud to see the hard work of these brave men and women saving innocent lives from being taken due to President Biden’s border crisis,” also referring to the fentanyl pouring into Texas from the southern border.

“The Biden Administration’s reckless open border policies pose an imminent danger to communities across Texas and the nation, allowing record levels of deadly drugs and dangerous weapons to pour across our southern border,” Abbott said. He also praised the special agents involved in the operation.

Law enforcement officers have explained to The Center Square how Mexican cartels and gangs work: they traffic people and drugs north into the U.S. and weapons and cash south to fund their multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise.

Earlier this month, DPS officers also seized 3.1 million lethal doses of fentanyl in the border town of Mission, Texas, as part of Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star.

Since Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, OLS law enforcement officers have apprehended over 367,000 illegal foreign nationals. They’ve made over 27,000 criminal arrests with over 25,000 felony charges reported. Texas OLS law enforcement officers have also seized over 382 million lethal doses of fentanyl, excluding the Austin bust, as of April 21, according to data from the governor’s office.