The Dallas DEA Division recently made the largest confiscation methamphetamine ever in North Texas.
DEA Agents found packages of meth in a hidden compartment of an 18-wheeler on Interstate 35 in the county of Denton.
“It is a staggering amount to be confiscated at one time,” said Eduardo Chavez, the Special Agent in charge of the Dallas DEA unit. “They were like sausage links.”
Altogether, DEA agents seized upwards of 1,930 pounds stuffed inside 663 packages and the sum is worth more than $45 million according to the DEA. This one drug bust was more than 20% of the total amount the field division has confiscated in all of 2020 as part of “Operation Crystal Shield,” which led to a total of 800 investigations and over 2,100 arrests.
“I see a lot of lives saved when we can stack up kilograms of drugs like this on a table,” said Chavez. “Unfortunately, methamphetamine is one of the largest threats across North Texas, so we would anticipate that a lot of it was destined for the market here.”
Adding in on these markets would include St. Louis, Chicago, and Atlanta, added Chavez.
During the investigation, DEA officials found out that the drugs likely belonged to the “Jalisco New Generation Cartel” or CJNG. They are considered to be at the top of the list for drug threats in the U.S. There has been a $10 million dollar reward for any information leading to the arrest of their leader, Nemesio Oseguera-Cervantes, nicknamed “El Mencho”.
“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.”
During the search, the 18-wheeler was found to have a fake compartment in the trailer, however, the load that was inside wasn’t fake. Chavez said that due to the pandemic causing less travel, drug traffickers moved to fewer but much larger shipments.
“Drug trafficking organizations ended up with stockpiles on both sides of the border because they didn’t want to stick out as much, and now, they have resorted to having to take bigger risks,” Chavez added.
This drug bust happened on Oct. 8, but the DEA can only now share the details and are still keeping the names of the suspects arrested hidden.
“We still have more targets on 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.”
