Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced Monday that a Senate committee will examine how illegal temporary license plates have become involved in violent crimes, human smuggling, and drug trafficking.
Patrick has directed the Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee to take up the issue between now and the start of the next legislative session in 2023.
NBC 5 Investigates has reported extensively on the massive scale of paper tag fraud in a series of reports, even traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border to show how drug cartels and human traffickers are now using fraudulent temporary tags in an effort to disguise vehicles and evade border enforcement.
In the DFW area, fraudulent temporary tags are involved in a majority of federal drug smuggling investigations the DEA told NBC 5.
Security flaws at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles made it easier for people posing as car dealers to obtain a Texas dealer’s license and then use that license to illegally sell tags for massive profits, the NBC 5 investigation found.
In the Texas House, the transportation committee also plans to hold hearings on the issue soon. Committee Chairman Terry Canales (D) pledged to take up the problem, after NBC 5 Investigates showed how small car dealers, with no visible storefront, were issuing tens of thousands of tags in a scheme that some law enforcement officials estimate has become a $200 million black-market industry.
PREVIOUS REPORTS
April 5, 2022 – Texas Senate Will Investigate Illegal Paper Tag Crimes, SmugglingMarch 9, 2022 – Texas Paper Tag Crime Danger Extends NationwideMarch 5, 2022 – Texas House Will Hold Hearings on Paper Tag MessFeb. 28, 2022 – License to Smuggle: Drug Cartels and Human Smugglers Use Paper Texas Tags to EvadeFeb. 15, 2022 – Fort Worth Police Announce Special Operation Targeting Paper TagsFeb. 14, 2022 — Crash Victim’s Parents Want More Cops to Police Paper Tag FraudFeb. 13, 2022 – More Funding Need to Fight Criminals Using Bogus Paper Tags: PoliceFeb. 10, 2022 – Police Report Drop in Fraudulent Tags But Warn Crooks Are AdaptingFeb. 9, 2022 – Texas DMV Shuts Down Six More Dealers Suspected of Selling Paper License TagsFeb. 7, 2022 – TxDMV Director Resigns Amidst Paper Tag MessJan. 27, 2022 – TxDMV Takes Emergency Action to Keep Crooks From Selling Paper TagsJan. 21, 2022 – Dallas Police Operation Targets Fraudulent Paper TagsJan. 17, 2022 – Recording Shows Police Warned TxDMV of Paper Tag Security Flaw Years AgoDec. 16, 2021 – DMV Committee Recommends Fingerprinting Some Dealers to Slow Paper Tag FraudDec. 14, 2021 – Texas House Transportation Chair Vows to Stop Paper Tag FraudDec. 6, 2021 – Texas DMV Boss Deflects Blame for Paper Tag DebacleNov. 23, 2021 – Illegal Paper Tags Costing Texas Taxpayers and Toll Roads MillionsNov. 10, 2021 – Suspected Paper Tag Peddler Shut Down Tuesday, Reopens Wednesday: InvestigatorsNov. 8, 2021 – How Texas Paper Tags Became a $200M Criminal Enterprise: NBC 5 Investigates
