Texas: Abbott calls for ending "easy bail for criminals"
The governor of The Lone Star State criticized the release of four suspects accused of running a fentanyl lab in Houston.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for ending "easy bail for criminals" in reference to a judge's verdict to free four suspects accused of running a major fentanyl lab in Houston.
The governor posted on Twitter that the news was "outrageous." He mentioned that the operation that led to the suspects’ arrests "could have killed thousands of people."
The offenders were arrested in a drug raid on January 30 and was carried out by the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) under the Operation Lone Star border security program created by Abbott.
DPS and CID special agents raided a small rental car facility and found 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of fentanyl precursors, 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of counterfeit fentanyl pills, 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of counterfeit Xanax with suspected fentanyl, 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of cocaine, 44 pounds (20 kilograms) of marijuana, various weapons and a stolen car. Texas DPS Lieutenant Craig Cummings, told Fox 26 Houston:
The operations of the fentanyl lab are currently under investigation.
Fentanyl "is a crisis in Texas"
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is potentially lethal even in small doses. Officials noted that of the 108,000 overdose deaths in 2021, more than 80,000 were related to these opioids. The drug is manufactured in Mexico using Chinese precursors and smuggled into the country through the southern border. Cummings said: