DEA Faces Probe Over Unseized Fentanyl in New Mexico
DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said the agency will fully cooperate with a Justice Department probe into whether agents let fentanyl shipments go unseized.
- On Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration requested a Justice Department inspector general review of its New Mexico fentanyl tactics; on Friday, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez opened a criminal investigation into whether federal agents violated state law.
- An Associated Press investigation revealed DEA agents monitored but did not seize large fentanyl shipments from 2023 to 2025 to build bigger federal cases, with whistleblower DEA Special Agent David Howell alleging agents permitted millions of pills to enter communities.
- Agents monitored a 74,000-pill shipment in Albuquerque in June 2023 without seizure; the DEA maintains these decisions were "lawful, reasonable under the circumstances," while critics liken the strategy to the 2011 "Operation Fast and Furious" scandal.
- Declaring a public health emergency, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham deployed the National Guard to curb fentanyl flows, stating, "Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities."
- The inspector general will now evaluate whether these operational decisions prioritize investigations over public safety, as Torrez vowed to demand documents regarding the DEA's conduct to determine if the practice reflects a broader pattern of reckless behavior.
227 Articles
227 Articles
New Mexico opens criminal probe of DEA after agents allowed fentanyl shipments to hit streets
New Mexico's attorney general on Friday opened a criminal investigation to determine whether U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law by allowing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets of Albuquerque.The extraordinary inquiry comes less than a week after The Associated Press reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger crimi…
New Mexico AG opens investigation into allegations that DEA let fentanyl flow into the state
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, pictured on Feb. 9, 2026, announced an investigation on June 26, 2026, into allegations that federal agents stood by while fentanyl was trafficked in New Mexico. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Friday announced he was opening a formal investigation into allegations recently reported by the Associated Press and the Albuquerque Journal that Drug Enforcement Administrati…
Statement From DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole Regarding Request For Independent Review
By TERRANCE C. COLE Administrator Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration exists to protect the American people. Fulfilling that mission requires not only aggressive action against the criminal organizations trafficking deadly drugs into our communities, but also accountability and public trust. Today, I requested that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent review of DEA…
'We poisoned our community': 4 reactions to DEA allowing fentanyl pills to hit the streets
A whistleblower’s allegation that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to move through New Mexico as part of a broader investigation is drawing outrage from law enforcement and elected officials who say the tactic may have cost lives.
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