DEA Agent Alleges Agency Let Millions of Fentanyl Pills 'Walk' in New Mexico

4.0 · 1d ago · US

The Facts

  • DEA Special Agent David Howell, an active agent, alleges the DEA allowed millions of fentanyl pills to 'walk', a tactic of letting traffickers distribute product to build larger cases. CBS News only
  • Howell said he told DEA managers for three years that dangerous amounts of fentanyl were reaching the street and that they did not listen. CBS News only
  • In 2023, Howell's team tracked a suspect in Albuquerque from the air; agents stopped the SUV after it picked up a child, detained the suspect, and Howell said they found 6,000 to 7,000 fentanyl pills and a gun under the child's seat. CBS News only
  • Howell said officials at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico chastised the agents for the seizure. CBS News only
  • Howell's whistleblower complaint was first reported last June by the Associated Press and the Albuquerque Journal. CBS News only
Dive deeper · 3 more factsShow less
  • New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has sued the federal government over the practice of letting fentanyl walk. CBS News only
  • Officials in the wider Albuquerque area have declared a state of emergency over rising fentanyl overdose calls. CBS News only
  • The DOJ said DEA Administrator Cole requested an independent investigation by the DOJ Inspector General, which is ongoing. DEA and DOJ declined interview requests. CBS News only

Context

A veteran DEA agent has publicly alleged that the agency let large quantities of fentanyl pills reach the streets in New Mexico as part of a 'walking' tactic intended to build bigger cases. The claims were made in his first television interview, with CBS News.

The DOJ says an independent Inspector General investigation into the whistleblower's complaint is ongoing. The DEA said it will implement improvements if any are identified. The allegations remain unproven.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 1.

5 Informed Citizen The story centers on an agent's allegations and an ongoing investigation, which is newsworthy and touches a major public-safety issue, but the concrete new event is mainly a TV interview and previously reported complaint, with limited immediate impact on ordinary people.
4 Science & Tech Analyst The story centers on a whistleblower's allegations and interview, with an ongoing IG investigation and a prior lawsuit, but no new concrete government action or confirmed impact beyond a regional fentanyl public-health issue, making it a moderately newsworthy, limited-scope story.
4 Business Analyst The story centers on a whistleblower's allegations and an ongoing Inspector General investigation, which are reactive and unproven, though the underlying fentanyl 'walking' practice and a state lawsuit give it moderate regional significance.
4 Policy Expert The story centers on allegations and a TV interview by an agent, with the concrete government actions being an ongoing IG investigation and a state AG lawsuit that were already reported earlier, so the new event is limited to rhetoric and revelations with moderate significance.
4 Critical Reader The story centers on an agent's allegations in an interview and a previously reported whistleblower complaint, with the concrete actions (a lawsuit by the AG and an ongoing IG investigation) being limited in scope and the claims remaining unproven, so it is a notable but limited-impact development.
4 Global Affairs Analyst The story centers on a whistleblower's allegations and a television interview, which are rhetoric and reporting on previously disclosed claims, though the underlying alleged fentanyl 'walking' practice, a pending state lawsuit, and an ongoing IG investigation add some substantive weight.
4 News Editor The story centers on a whistleblower's allegations and an ongoing investigation, which are largely rhetorical or previously reported, though the subject of fentanyl trafficking affecting New Mexico communities gives it moderate regional impact.

Sources (2)

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