What started as a routine traffic stop on a South Texas highway turned into one of the bigger meth busts the region has seen lately, after troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety pulled nearly 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine out of a semi in Live Oak County this week. Investigators say the haul, worth about $3.4 million on the street, was stashed under a false floor in a semi-trailer on US-281 near George West and was on its way to Dallas. The driver was taken into custody at the scene.
How Troopers Uncovered the Load
Just after 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a trooper stopped a blue 2020 Kenworth truck-tractor for a traffic violation on US-281 near George West and reported spotting signs of possible criminal activity. A Live Oak County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was brought in and alerted to the trailer, prompting a deeper search. DPS Criminal Investigations Division agents then found 479 black tape-wrapped bundles hidden in a false floor, with a combined weight of about 1,980 pounds. The driver, identified by authorities as 32-year-old Diego Mendez of Alton, was arrested and booked into the Live Oak County Jail. Officials put the shipment's street value at roughly $3.4 million and say it was bound for Dallas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Operation Lone Star Context
DPS officials say the stop was part of Operation Lone Star, the state’s border-security initiative that teams DPS troopers with local and federal partners to intercept migrants, weapons and drugs. State leaders have highlighted a series of large seizures, often involving hidden compartments carved into commercial trailers, as proof the strategy is biting into smuggling operations, according to the Office of the Texas Governor. These kinds of interdictions, officials argue, are one piece of a broader effort to disrupt smuggling corridors feeding major Texas cities.
Legal Implications
With the amount of methamphetamine far exceeding 400 grams, Mendez is looking at a first-degree felony. Under the Texas Penal Code, that level of charge carries a possible sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison, along with a potential fine of up to $10,000. DPS officials say the Criminal Investigations Division is continuing to work the case and that additional charges could follow as the investigation moves forward, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
