Chambers County — Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne says counties throughout southeast Texas are dealing with a flood of drugs coming into the state from the U.S-Mexico border.

The sheriff recently attended the National Sheriff’s Association Conference in Phoenix, Arizona where he visited the southern Arizona border. There he says, he saw the startling statistics play out on a much wider scale.

‘Now that they’ve opened the border up, we are being inundated all across the country but particularly Texas, New Mexico and Arizona…” said Sheriff Hawthorne.

Methamphetamine trafficking and use is running rampant in Chambers County, according to the sheriff. The county is also seeing a rise in fentanyl, cocaine and heroine cases. The most recent drug bust a few weeks ago netted more than $300,000 worth of prescription pills during a traffic stop.

“This is not an immigration issue this is a cartel issue. This is… we’ve let up our security at our southern borer and the Mexican cartel is having a heyday,” said Hawthorne.

The sheriff says on average – more than 290 people die of drug overdoses every day nationwide. Most of them are young adults. It’s estimated 90% of fentanyl in the United States comes from Mexico.

Sheriff Brian Hawthorne also says Texas is seeing an uptick in human smuggling and trafficking.

The sheriff says his office is working closely with sheriff departments in Jefferson and Orange counties to develop a proactive approach to disrupting the drug trade.

Written by Rocio De La Fe