Congressman Adam Kinzinger says recent Guard mission took drugs off the street

Congressman Adam Kinzinger said his recent Air National Guard mission took a significant amount of narcotics and cash from drug trade off the streets.

Specifically, he said the military unit seized "many, many pounds of fentanyl," a synthetic opioid common in drug overdose deaths, working with local law enforcement agencies in Arizona along the United States and Mexico border.

Kinzinger, R-Channahon, who also is a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, answered a couple questions about the mission Tuesday in a teleconference prior to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.

He said the Air National Guard also works closely with local law enforcement and border agents, and provide resources those authorities otherwise would not have.

Kinzinger, a reconnaissance pilot, stayed within the United States, as he has with previous border missions.

"I want to thank the people in my district for allowing me to serve my country and be a citizen soldier," he said.

Kinzinger has flown border duty before, doing immigration and drug-smuggling aerial surveillance.