Law enforcement officers in Texas have seized over 342 million lethal doses of fentanyl in the past year as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star,” according to his office.
The giant seizure of drugs comes as Texas is battling with a chronic border crisis, which Abbott has largely blamed on the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. As little as two milligrams is potentially enough to be lethal.
An increasing number of Mexican cartels have been importing fentanyl from China before pressing it into pills or mixing it into other counterfeit pills made to look like Xanax, Adderall, or oxycodone. The drugs are then sold to unaware buyers in the United States.
“Fentanyl remains the single deadliest drug threat our state and nation has ever encountered, killing four Texans every day,” said Abbott in a statement on Monday. “Fentanyl is a clandestine killer, with Mexican drug cartels strategically manufacturing and distributing the drug disguised as painkillers, stimulants, anti-anxiety drugs, and even candy.”
Fentanyl Deaths on the Rise
Abbott also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to find Texas gangs that support Mexican drug cartels and seize their assets to prevent cartel networks from operating in Texas communities.“In the Biden Administration’s negligence to address this national security threat, Texas has designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and is launching a statewide public awareness campaign to fight the fentanyl crisis in our state,” Abbott said Monday while unveiling the state’s new “One Pill Kills” campaign aimed at informing Texans that just one pill laced with fentanyl can be deadly.
“Together, we will protect more innocent lives from being lost to this deadly drug,” Abbott said.
That was equivalent to more than 36 million lethal doses removed from the illegal drug supply, officials said.