Texas partnership with Austin police yields major haul of deadly drug, weapons bound for Mexico

Texas state authorities working with Austin police on Thursday seized a cache of deadly drugs and multiple firearms headed for Mexico. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott attributed the seizure to the partnership between the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Austin Police – a collaboration that drew some protest when it was first announced last month. 

Abbott said the discovery came after DPS Special Agents assigned to the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (AVCTF) observed a drug deal and made a felony arrest. An investigation led to DPS’ SWAT unit executing a search warrant. 

The agents seized more than half-a-million lethal doses of fentanyl – or enough to kill roughly half of Austinites. The agents found methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin that had been smuggled in from Mexico. 

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DPS Special Agents also found thermal infrared binoculars, ballistic vests, ammunition, and a range of firearms – some of which had been stolen – that were bound for Mexico. 

Two people were taken into federal custody. 

Gov. Abbott said the collaboration between Austin police and Texas DPS helped save lives “being taken due to President Biden’s border crisis.” 

First announced in March, the partnership between the two law enforcement agencies was intended to compensate for the local agency’s staffing crisis. The announcement drew polarizing reactions from city council members and the community.  

Some residents commended the partnership as long overdue after funding for Austin’s police force led to staffing shortages. Many had regularly complained, for instance, of APD not showing up to car crashes for hours. 

Others, such as city council member Zo Qadri, criticized the secretive way the partnership was negotiated. 

“Austinties deserve accountability and transparency,” Council member Vanessa Fuentes tweeted. “There’s no use in setting high standards for local officers if they can easily be bypassed with an increased presence of State Troopers. They must, at least, adhere to the same rules and standards as their local counterparts.”

The problem of Austin’s police staffing crisis proliferated after the city council decided to cut the department’s budget by about a third in August 2020. The funding was later restored, but multiple cadet classes had already been canceled, and officers left in droves. 

Texas DPS troopers have statewide jurisdiction and have provided support in the past to cities like San Antonio and Dallas to reduce crime rates.

Fox News’ Paul Best and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.