Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is slamming a decision to release four people on bond who were arrested for allegedly being part of fentanyl operation in Houston.
The Republican governor wrote in a Thursday tweet: "This is outrageous. Texas officers broke up a major Houston fentanyl operation that could have killed thousands of people. But a day after 4 suspects were arrested, they were released on bond by a Houston Judge. We must end easy bail for criminals”
Abbott linked to a story by The Center Square.
The news outlet reported on Thursday that the Texas Department of Public Safety smashed a major fentanyl lab in Houston, but our suspect arrested were released on bond 24 hours later.
The four had been busted after police found a warehouse with three pill press machines to make fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl, 17 pounds of fentanyl precursors, and a kilo of counterfeit Xanax pills with suspected fentanyl. The Center Square reported two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose.
Officers also discovered two kilos of cocaine, 44 pounds of marijuana, several stolen guns, and a stolen car.
"As part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, Texas Department of Public Safety continues to combat the growing fentanyl crisis and is working hard to stop these dangerous drugs from making their way into Texas communities," DPS said in a statement.
All four people arrested, however, bonded out of jail.
Abbott said he wants tougher safeguards in place to prevent this happening again.
The governor and state lawmakers are working to increase penalties for fentanyl distribution, including making fentanyl poisoning a murder charge in Texas, according to The Center Square.
Meanwhile, Republican senators, led by Florida's Marco Rubio, have reintroduced a bill allowing prosecutors to charge anyone responsible for the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death with federal felony murder.
"Illicit fentanyl remains the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18-45," said a statement from Rubio's office. The Florida Republican is one of 15 GOP senators pushing for the bill.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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