Gov. Little details Idaho State Police deployment to support Texas in fight against fentanyl

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Governor Brad Little announced Friday the details of the Idaho State Police (ISP) deployment he directed to support the State of Texas’ efforts to secure the border and improve Idaho’s ability to interdict illicit drugs to protect Idahoans.

“As we’ve done before, Idaho is responding to the call for help from our neighbors along the border. We used a targeted approach to understand Texas’ needs and wanted to make sure our troopers will bring back what they learn to better protect Idahoans,” Governor Little said. “The focus of the mission is two-fold – the ISP troopers will serve as a force multiplier for the State of Texas when there is an increased need for law enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border, and our troopers will receive on-the-job training and experience up-to-the-minute enforcement techniques that can be brought back and immediately applied in Idaho.”

In addition, Governor Little will travel to Weslaco, Texas, just miles from the Texas-Mexico border, next week to receive a briefing from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials and fly over hot spots for illegal border crossings. The head of ISP, Col. Ked Wills, will join Governor Little for the briefing and tour.

The ISP deployment follows through on a commitment Governor Little made during his State of the State and Budget Address in January.

Law enforcement reporting shows the supply of illicit fentanyl from Mexico in our region has become much more prevalent. The majority of officers surveyed reported that investigations involving fentanyl were directly tied to sources in Mexico. Approximately 96% of drug trafficking organizations investigated identified Mexico as the source country for drugs trafficked into the region.

From 2020 to 2021, the rate of fentanyl-related overdose deaths doubled in Idaho.