Laredo and San Antonio — It’s a surge most people weren’t expecting, but law enforcement was waiting for it.

Just in the last few months, cocaine has surfaced across South Texas highways, neighborhoods, and the Rio Grande riverbanks.

In Starr County, DPS troopers spotted four men in camouflage crossing the Rio Grande. They dropped their backpacks and ran back into Mexico. Texas troopers found 69 pounds of cocaine worth more than $2.2 million.

In Webb County, DPS stopped a Dodge Challenger and found 25 pounds of cocaine, worth $150,000.

In New Braunfels, officers stopped a pickup truck on Interstate 35. A Seguin K-9 unit found 44 pounds hidden in the floorboard. That’s about $1 million in street value.

Three seizures, out of many, that investigators say highlight a bigger shift.

Sergeant Eric Estrada with Texas DPS said:

“That seizure of 69 pounds of cocaine through the river — that’s something we don’t generally see.”

Estrada says for years, migrant smuggling has brought cartels billions. However, with fewer crossings, criminal organizations are seeking alternative means to generate revenue.

“They’re desperate. One way they’re getting money now is through smuggling drugs,” Estrada said.

Patricia Driscoll, a border technology security expert, says what we’ve been catching is only a fraction of what’s coming in.

“If we caught 64 kilos, then there’s a whole lot more than what we’ve caught. We generally catch about two percent of everything that crosses the border. The price of cocaine on the street is extremely low, which tells you the supply is big, and cocaine is definitely back as a party drug,” Driscoll said.

The shift is a reminder of another era, the “Cocaine Cowboys” of the 1970s and 80s in Texas and Florida.

“The term cocaine cowboys came from the 70s and 80s small aircraft flying in big loads to ranch airstrips,” Driscoll explained.

Retired DEA Special Agent in Charge Tony Hubbard, who spent decades investigating cartels, says the parallels to the past are striking. He says cartels are using the same playbook, but with better technology, more money, and faster routes, calling it “cocaine cowboys with 21st century tools.”

Estrada says that it now includes drones.

“What we’re starting to see here in Laredo is the use of drone technology; they’re launching drones to pinpoint not only federal agents but also DPS troopers working during Operation Lone Star,” Estrada said.

Driscoll agrees: “I do believe it is the return of the cocaine cowboys.”

Law enforcement calls it an old revenue stream revived as human smuggling slows. With street prices dropping, experts say more cocaine is finding its way into U.S. communities.

“They have that advantage; they can fly over us, pinpoint locations, and build a map of DPS troopers and federal agencies along the river,” Estrada said.

In the 1980s, authorities relied on aerostats — blimp-like devices that could track low-flying planes. A critical one in Eagle Pass was never replaced after storms, leaving the sky open.

“The plan was to build a robust layered defense, they were put up for the cocaine cowboys — and now they’re back. But without long-range coverage, we have a big problem,” Driscoll said.

Today, the Valley near McAllen reports about 1,200 drone hits a day, many operated by cartels to move drugs.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more air traffic, small planes and jets that can get past radar technology,” Driscoll said.

What once seemed like a chapter from the past is now being rewritten along the border with billions in drug money at stake.