DEA Whistleblower Claims Agency Allowed Millions Of Fentanyl Pills To Reach US Streets

Federal drug enforcement tactics are facing scrutiny in New Mexico, where a DEA whistleblower claims investigators have knowingly allowed massive quantities of fentanyl to enter communities in pursuit of larger criminal cases, according to CBS. 

CBS writes that the controversy has escalated as the Albuquerque area struggles with a surge in fentanyl-related emergencies. Bernalillo County recently declared a state of emergency, while New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has filed a lawsuit challenging federal authorities' handling of suspected drug shipments.

At the center of the dispute is David Howell, a longtime DEA special agent who alleges that the agency has repeatedly permitted fentanyl shipments to proceed through trafficking networks rather than intercepting them.

In an interview with CBS News, Howell said he spent three years warning supervisors that the strategy was putting lives at risk, with little response.

The practice, commonly called “drug walking,” allows narcotics to remain in circulation while investigators track suspects in hopes of dismantling larger distribution operations. Howell contends that applying such a strategy to fentanyl, even as overdose deaths devastate communities, is dangerously irresponsible.

He pointed to a 2023 investigation involving an Albuquerque suspect whose vehicle contained thousands of fentanyl pills, a handgun and a child. Agents stopped the vehicle and confiscated an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 pills, but Howell claims federal prosecutors subsequently criticized the seizure because it interfered with their broader investigation.

According to Howell, prosecutors would have allowed the suspect to continue transporting the drugs despite the child being in the vehicle.

Torrez has suggested that federal investigative practices may be contributing to New Mexico's worsening fentanyl problem, although the extent of any connection remains disputed.

The allegations, previously detailed by the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal, are now the subject of an independent Justice Department inspector general investigation requested by DEA Administrator Terrance Cole.

Neither the DEA nor the Justice Department agreed to be interviewed by CBS News. Federal officials say they cannot discuss the ongoing investigation, while the DEA has indicated it will address any problems uncovered.

Howell remains employed by the agency and says he went public because he believes federal law enforcement has failed to adequately protect the communities it is supposed to serve.