Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How Drug Smugglers Are Taking Advantage of the Texas Oil Boom

U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Border agents seized a total of 580 bundles of marijuana – totaling 11,973 pounds – from a truck in Del Rio, Texas.";s:

While fracking for oil along the Texas border has become a big business for petrol companies, a new entity seeks to tap into the lucrative market – drug smugglers.  

As infrastructure and activity increases to meet the demand of the booming industry, drug smugglers are starting to take advantage of the new roads and increased traffic, much of which is located on private ranch lands.  

“Because there are so many different companies, and so many different trucks going through that area, it provides a sort of way to blend in if you will,” National Journal writer Ben Geman tells The Texas Standard's David Brown. “Essentially what’s happening is you’ve got smugglers who are stashing marijuana, or other drugs, in trucks that are either 'cloned' to look like one of the industry trucks, or some type of truck that seems to fit right in driving around on these ranch lands.”

The situation has fomented a new partnership between law enforcement and oil and gas companies as they seek to monitor the oil fields' vast expanse. While smugglers may be able to use the fracking boom to their advantage now, that might not be the case for long.

Historically, industry and law enforcement have operated independently of one another, Geman says, but concerns at the border are changing that. A new program called the Integrated Frontline Resources Awareness Campaign (iFRAC) aims to better communicate suspicious activity and address safety concerns for workers.

Through this partnership, the Border Patrol hopes to counteract the advantages the oil boom's afforded drug smugglers.

"I was chatting with a border patrol agent … and he made the point, it's the yin to the yang," Geman explains. "On the one hand, all of these new or newly paved roads on private ranch land are providing some new conduits and new avenues for drug smugglers. On the other hand, you've got more eyes and ears out there in the field, that several years ago didn't exist in the same way."

David entered radio journalism thanks to a love of storytelling, an obsession with news, and a desire to keep his hair long and play in rock bands. An inveterate political junkie with a passion for pop culture and the romance of radio, David has reported from bases in Washington, London, Los Angeles, and Boston for Monitor Radio and for NPR, and has anchored in-depth public radio documentaries from India, Brazil, and points across the United States and Europe. He is, perhaps, known most widely for his work as host of public radio's Marketplace. Fulfilling a lifelong dream of moving to Texas full-time in 2005, Brown joined the staff of KUT, launching the award-winning cultural journalism unit "Texas Music Matters."
Rhonda joined KUT in late 2013 as producer for the station's new daily news program, Texas Standard. Rhonda will forever be known as the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the first full-time hire for The Texas Standard?” She’s an Iowa native who got her start in public radio at WFSU in Tallahassee, while getting her Master's Degree in Library Science at Florida State University. Prior to joining KUT and The Texas Standard, Rhonda was a producer for Wisconsin Public Radio.
Related Content