More liquid meth discovered near Austin as DEA warns its only getting worse
Austin police recently discovered a large load of liquid methamphetamine concealed inside a pickup truck just south of the state capital.
The discovery was made Dec. 7 during a routine traffic stop.
A gray 2001 Dodge Ram pickup with Iowa plates was pulled over and after a brief investigation written consent to search the vehicle was obtained.
RELATED: $4 million in meth found in gas tank in Texas
A canine officer conducted a sniff test, indicating that narcotics were onboard.
Officials later found 50 kilos of liquid meth inside the gas tank. This setup was somewhat the same as the one seen in a recent meth bust in nearby Fayette County.
RELATED: New form of meth found in Texas City middle school
The driver Richard Martinez, 44, was soon arrested.
Police said the estimated street value of the liquid meth was nearly $4 million.
Drug officials and criminal courts are not going easy on meth smugglers, liquid or otherwise. It would appear that its become a hot commodity just like marijuana.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, liquid meth is now the number one drug entering the United States at the southwestern border. It’s also not easy to detect considering the lengths that some smugglers and cartels will go.
RELATED: Drug report: Meth becoming choice of smugglers
In early November a Guatemalan man was sentenced to federal prison for more than 24 years for trying to smuggle more than 350 kilograms of liquid meth inside a tractor trailer across the Texas-Mexico border.
That conviction was handed down the same day that DEA officials released a report saying that the amount of meth being seized by authorities is increasing in recent years, climbing 90 percent in the Rio Grande Valley and 245 percent in El Paso.
Filed under: General Problems
I emailed the DEA about Walmart refusing to sell me Claritin-D (because of a fictitious annual limit):
Me: It’s been 10 years since the passage of the meth act, and I would really like to know how the added restrictions to my allergy medicine have made a dent in the meth trade. Because from the DEA’s own reports, the underground meth market is even bigger now than it was 10 years ago.
DEA: Although domestic production does occur at small levels, it has declined, most likely due to restrictions on precursor chemicals in the United States and the increasing availability of high-purity, high-potency Mexican methamphetamine.
Yeah, blame the Mexicans. Why not. It’s not like the drug war hasn’t turned Latin America into a war zone. I guess my next question would’ve been: Does the DEA enjoy playing whack-a-mole? It might be the the answer to job security, but it’s a strategy that hasn’t worked for decades. In fact, it just makes everything worse. So, is the DEA doing a good job?
This is what the DEA should be focused on INCOMING poison from other countries but not getting into the medical conditions of American people. Im truly tired of worrying if I’m gonna get my prescription filled this month without issue!
I agree. They have a new game they play with my medication where they leave me one day short every month. Would they do that to a diabetics insulin if it could be abused?