TYLER, Texas — Sheriffs from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to Smith County and the Oklahoma border have banded together to fight the cartels.
During a news conference Wednesday at the Smith County Commissioners Court, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn and Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner shared updates about the success of North Texas Sheriffs Criminal Investigation Unit, also known as NTXCIU.
"We gotta start working together or our youth are going to continue dying from fentanyl," Smith said during the news conference.
The partnership began in 2017 with seven North Texas Sheriffs, including Skinner, Grayson County Sheriff Tom Watt, Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks, Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler, Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, and Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin, who were concerned about a surge of illegal narcotics and human trafficking happening in North Texas.
The Smith County Sheriff's Office joined the partnership in July 2018.
Since its inception, NTXCIU has seized $7.9 million in hidden bulk cash, nearly 8,000 pounds of marijuana, over 6,000 pounds of meth, more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine, over 660 pounds of THC extract, 365 pounds of heroin, almost 400 pounds of prescription narcotics and 103 pounds of fentanyl.
NTXCIU said deputies have also recovered 119 stolen motor vehicles and more than 60 weapons and ammunition. Law enforcement has made over 570 felony arrests, the NTXCIU said.
The partnership is made up of specially trained deputies who have the ability to work in each other’s counties against the cartels transporting drugs and human trafficking coming through the north central area of the state.
"This is in constant motion, 365 days a year, and these deputies will work their counties," Skinner said. "They work in another county. They’re always working together to look for, and identify these loads of drugs and human cargo coming through our area."
The eight sheriff's offices involved in the NTXCIU equally share forfeited money from their arrests to pay for the operations of taxpayers do not have to.