The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) declared a statewide lockdown of all its correctional facilities on Wednesday morning, citing increased contraband-related incidents and drug-related inmate homicides.

TDCJ said most inmate-on-inmate homicides "are tied back to illegal drugs ... and over the last five years, the volume of illegal narcotics entering the system has substantially increased."

In response to the drug and murder epidemic in Texas jails, TDCJ is implementing the following strategies to restore order:

"Due to the fact staff will be concentrating on these search efforts, visitation will be canceled until further notice. Inmates will still have access to the phone system and tablets," TDCJ said. 

Once the drug searches are over, normal operations will resume at correction facilities. No timeframe has been given.