BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Governor Brad Little announced the return of two teams of Idaho State Police (ISP) troopers deployed in April to aid the State of Texas in securing the U.S.-Mexico border. Little made the following statement:
In Idaho and across the country, reports of human trafficking are on the rise. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are seizing record amounts of fentanyl, meth, and other dangerous. In too many cases, this illegal activity can be traced right back to cartels and other bad actors taking advantage of our lawless southern border. The troopers we deploy to Texas come back with better knowledge to stop these perpetrators in our state. As they have done before, our troopers will debrief and train their law enforcement colleges around the state so we can protect Idahoans from these deadly, dangerous threats.
Little announced the three-week mission during his State of the State and Budget Address in January, focusing on human trafficking.
“We are very proud of what we are doing and stand solely behind the Governor. What we observed down there was absolutely eye-opening,” said ISP Sgt. Christopher Cottrell about his experience during the deployment to Texas. “It is a very scary world, and Idaho is largely protected, but the more we discover, the more we realize that some of this stuff is in plain sight, and we didn’t know it at all.”
A recent news release says the initiative was designed to aid law enforcement efforts and enrich educational programs in Idaho. Insights from the mission will be integrated into the Domestic Highway Enforcement (DHE) courses for Idaho law enforcement.