WFAA-TV – LIVE OAK COUNTY, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) seized nearly 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine – worth more than $3.4 million – during an Operation Lone Star traffic stop on a commercial motor vehicle South Texas this week.
The drugs were being transported to Dallas, DPS officials said.
On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, just after 3:30 p.m., a DPS Trooper stopped a blue 2020 Kenworth truck tractor semi-trailer for a traffic violation on US 281 near George West. During the stop, the Trooper noticed signs of possible criminal activity, prompting further investigation, DPS said.
A Live Oak Co. Sheriff’s Office K-9 was called in to assist and positively alerted to the trailer, which led the trooper and special agents with DPS’s Criminal Investigations Division (CID) to locate and seize 479 black tape-wrapped bundles of methamphetamine hidden in a false floor compartment beneath the trailer.
The bundles weighed a total of 1,980 pounds and had an estimated street value of $3.4 million, according to DPS.
The driver, Diego Mendez, 32, of Alton, Texas, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance over 400 grams, a first-degree felony. He was booked into the Live Oak Co. Jail.
