SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Police are responding to about 150 overdose calls every month, and a new task force is going after the people supplying the drugs behind them.
The DEA-led Overdose Task Force brings together San Antonio Police and several local, state and federal agencies to investigate overdose cases and trace the drugs back to dealers and larger organizations.
San Antonio Police Chief Jesse Salame said overdose calls have increased from about 135 a month to roughly 150. SAPD is assigning five detectives with backgrounds in narcotics and homicide investigations to the task force.
This isn’t just about the overdose itself. This is about getting to the people behind the drugs,” Salame said. “Our goal is simple: save lives, disrupt the supply chain of dangerous drugs, hold those responsible accountable, and keep San Antonio safe.
The task force isn’t starting from scratch. Its first operation has already led to federal charges against three people following an investigation on the West Side.
U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons said investigators had identified homes in the 1000 block of Troyon Street where fentanyl was being sold. The homes are within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and less than a mile from a high school.
Investigators searched three homes and made several arrests. Three people, Valerie Sanmaniego, Alfredo Alejandro and Alejandro Reyes, now face federal drug charges.
According to Simmons, Sanmaniego was found with fentanyl and a handgun and is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Alejandro was allegedly found with methamphetamine, cocaine and a fentanyl-heroin mixture, along with a shotgun and an AR-15 rifle. Investigators also found scales and baggies they said were consistent with drug distribution.
Reyes was allegedly found with a fentanyl-heroin mixture and was seen making hand-to-hand drug sales outside the homes, Simmons said.
Sanmaniego and Alejandro each face five to 40 years in federal prison if convicted.
The task force won’t focus only on fentanyl.
DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ben Post said federal prosecutors can pursue cases when deaths are linked to other controlled substances, including cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin.
Post said about a dozen people have been federally prosecuted in the Western District of Texas during the past three years in cases where drugs resulted in deaths. The average sentence was 12 years in federal prison, while the longest was 24 years.
Task force officials said the drugs are not only harming people struggling with addiction, but are also connected to violent street gangs. They said the task force will investigate and build cases against those groups.
“We found that, in large part, the distribution is done by local gangs,” Simmons said.
The task force includes the DEA, SAPD, Texas Department of Public Safety, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, UT San Antonio Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.
Simmons said putting investigators from those agencies together gives them the ability to share resources and work cases that might otherwise be handled separately.
The benefit of this task force is just bringing all these resources together,” Simmons said. “Being able to combine our efforts in this way really makes us much more effective than maybe we would have been individually.
While the first operation centered on the West Side, Simmons said the task force will investigate drug activity and overdoses wherever they occur in the San Antonio area.
Officials did not provide a number for how many people have died from overdoses in San Antonio over the last few months and we also have reached out to get the numbers for the past year compared to this year and are waiting for the response.
Anyone struggling with addiction can also get connected with the San Antonio Council of Alcohol and Drug Awareness here.