CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi police are getting new tools to help crack down on drug crimes in the area. All this is help of a more than $40,000 grant that has allowed local officers to team up with federal agencies on major investigations.
Assistant Chief Todd Green, who oversees investigations for the Corpus Christi Police Department, said a previous operation led to significant results.
"We seized two counterfeit pill presses that could create, I believe, up to 35,000 false pills per day," Green said.
He noted that since that investigation, officers have noticed a decrease in the number of cases involving fentanyl.
"We took down the entire organization and that was about three years ago when that finally, when everything finally culminated," Green said.
Despite these efforts, drug issues persist in the community. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, more than one million people in the U.S. have died from drug overdose since 1999.
"We still see a high amount of cocaine and methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is probably the most prevalent hard drug we see in the area. It is relatively cheap," Green said.
The High Intensity Drug Area Initiative grant puts two narcotic detectives who are under the Drug Enforcement Association to help CCPD. Green explained these detectives provide investigators with specialized training, support, and valuable intelligence.
"They provide a lot of good intelligence with us. So, they'll give us names of people. They'll let us know who owns the house, who has utilities, and who have vehicles registered to that house," Green said.
The collaboration aims to address not just drug dealing but related criminal activities as well.
"They're not just drug dealers. They're members of gangs. They're involved in human trafficking, gun trafficking, there's all types of different crime they're involved in. It's not just a single crime," Green said.
While police acknowledge the grant money will help with many of the department's initiatives and are thankful they have the support of the City Council that approved of it this week, they emphasize that tips from people in the community are also helpful in their efforts to combat drug crimes.
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