AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A prominent Texas state lawmaker has admitted that he dropped an envelope containing several baggies of cocaine at an Austin airport, and he says he will seek drug treatment.

The state police say that airport security cameras caught Democratic state Rep. Poncho Nevarez dropping the envelope bearing his official state letterhead on the ground as he climbed into a vehicle on Sept. 6.

Nevarez didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment, but in a statement sent to several other news outlets, he said the “the news is true” and that he will seek treatment.

Nevarez, an attorney from the West Texas city of Eagle Pass, is chairman of the Texas House’s Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. He announced last month that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

He hasn’t been charged, but investigators said in an affidavit that he is suspected of third-degree felony drug possession, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.