LLANO COUNTY — It destroys families, ruins people's lives and is highly addictive.
Local, state and federal authorities are trying to stop rampant methamphetamine use in the Texas Hill Country.
"It’s a never-ending cycle, I just wish it would end somewhere,” said Llano County Sheriff Bill Blackburn, looking at the dozens of mugshots of people recently arrested for drug trafficking charges. "It hurts to see all this."
The mugshots are a result of a seven-month long investigation involving the Llano County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) along with Department of Public Safety Troopers, National Guard Intelligence Analysts, Texas Rangers, and the District Attorney’s office.
In all, 39 people suspected of trafficking methamphetamine have been arrested during the course of the investigation.
One neighbor living near heavy meth activity decided enough is enough. In May 2018, Shaun Daughtry put up a sign on his property which read, “Attention: meth free zone, drive like your kids live here.”
"I can't have it around here. I'm not going to,” Daughtry said of the drug activity.
He said there are 14 children on their block who ride the bus, and added that they do not need to grow up around meth.
"Somebody has to make a stand,” Daughtry said.
The children’s safety is a priority for Sheriff Blackburn, as well. Blackburn said it motivates his staff to get these users in jail.
In the county's latest drug bust, 18 people were arrested and 12 of those were women. Blackburn told KVUE all 12 of those women had children.
"When you pick up a little 5-year-old girl and you're at their house because you have a drug bust going on and then you find out later the little 5-year-old tested positive for meth, you don't have a very good opinion of their parents,” Blackburn said.
There were four people at large with active warrants in the investigation when KVUE reported this story. Blackburn said the DEA and their Llano County detectives are monitoring their activity and plan to make even more arrests.