Law enforcement officials are seeing a dramatic increase in Methamphetamine flowing into the U.S. from across the Mexican border. As efforts to quell the amount of methamphetamine coming into the country increase, drug traffickers are getting more creative in ways to transport the drug into American markets. Traffickers have turned to transporting methamphetamine in a liquid form.
The drug is dissolved in a solution to be later converted for sale and use. In its liquid form, the drug can be sealed in anything from plastic soda bottles, 55-gallon drums, and gas tanks. The liquid form of methamphetamine easier to conceal. ?No longer is meth being moved only in crystal or powder form,? said DEA special agent Wendell Campbell. ?Liquid meth is on the rise. It’s easy to get across the border that way, and we’re seeing a dramatic increase in Texas and the Houston area.?
The increase in Methamphetamine supply in the Southwest area has local law enforcement concerned that the area will see an even higher increase of methamphetamine use due to lower prices for the drug. The DEA’s priority is to catch traffickers with liquid methamphetamine before the drug reaches the cookhouses where it is converted into crystal and powder form.
In the Houston area, 20 percent of crimes committed are drug-related. ?Meth is now in the Houston region considered the number one drug threat in our region,? said Houston police captain Dale Brown. He added that as the drug becomes more prominent, it is starting to affect average citizens because people are committing more crimes to support their methamphetamine habits.
Houston authorities stepped up efforts to stop drug traffickers before the drug hits neighborhoods and communities, but are unsure about how much liquid methamphetamine has slipped through.
