Fentanyl-Related Cases In Amarillo Are Skyrocketing

Lately, a lot of arrests have been made in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle area that have been wrapped around two different things.

One of them has been wrapped around inappropriate contact with minors. We've seen a massive rise in cases involving adults with minors.

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The other one that has been on the rise has been cases involving drugs, namely fentanyl. Now, Amarillo has always seemingly been a hotbed for drug arrests, and it seems to come in waves.

Lately, we've been experiencing one of those waves. While meth used to be the drug of choice being transported through the city, fentanyl has now replaced it.

Sgt. Cindy Barkley, the PIO for Texas Department of Public Safety mentioned,

“According to the DEA, fentanyl manufactured by the Mexican cartels is the main source behind the fentanyl rise in our country. Not only is it in circulating in the larger cities, but it’s also found in the smaller communities like right here in the Texas Panhandle,”

With Texas being as close to the border of Mexico, it makes perfect sense that we'd see an increase of trafficking through the state, thus making it easy for it to be found in the area.

As we all know by now, fentanyl has proven to be one of the strongest drugs ever produced, and even the smallest amount can be fatal. The drug consistently causes drug seizures with users and it has a tendency to be laced into other drugs.

It's become so prevalent in the region that Garcia says officers are making at least one fentanyl-related arrest per week.

That puts it on the edge of an epidemic in the state, and if we don't get a handle on it soon, there will be more funerals than we wish to see.