With a metropolitan population of more than 290,000 as of 2011, including a large college-aged population, the city of Lubbock has become a large part of the drug smuggling corridor for Mexican drug cartels looking to transport marijuana, crystal meth, cocaine and heroin through the city and onto other locations in the Western and Midwestern parts of the United States. It is the responsibility of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Lubbock to deter drug smuggling and dealing operations in and around the city, as the DEA office in Lubbock is under the jurisdiction of the Dallas division of the DEA.
The largest drug problem/ epidemic in the Lubbock area is crystal meth. Historically, methamphetamine was produced in the rural areas outside of Lubbock in makeshift meth labs, but now the meth production operations have gone away and been replaced by drugs produced in Mexico and then smuggled across the border, which is fairly close to the Mexico- United States border crossing. This is problematic because it is harder for the DEA to destroy meth labs when they are not located within their jurisdiction.
DEA Jobs and Careers in Lubbock, Texas
In order for an applicant to get a job with the Lubbock DEA, they must first meet the basic requirements and then go through a series of interviews, exams, training and tests. When considering how to become a DEA agent, there are many different sets of requirements based on which kind of position is being applied for.
Career options include the following:
- Special Agent
- Intelligence Research Specialist
- Diversion Investigator
- Administration
- Forensic Scientist
Recent DEA Activity in Lubbock, Texas
DEA jobs in Lubbock require conducting specialized investigations into drug smuggling rings that typically have ties to Mexican drug cartels across the border. The following is a list of some of the most recent drug busts and investigations that have taken place in and around the city of Lubbock, Texas:
- October 2012: Two men were arrested on the 1800 block of 49th street in Lubbock in connection with a marijuana dealing operation with connections to a powerful Mexican drug cartel. In total, the Lubbock DEA seized 122 pounds of marijuana and more than $23,000 in cash.
- December 2012: A months-long sting, with coordination from the lubbock Police Department, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Lubbock DEA, resulted in one of the largest drug busts in Lubbock history. In total, more than 900 marijuana plants were found in a field with an estimated street value of more than $750,000. One of the men arrested in the sting was a former District Attorney in Texas.