In a recent investigation by Jim Mustian and Joshua Goodman of the Associated Press, it has come to light that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to be distributed in New Mexico. This controversial decision was made as part of a broader strategy to build larger federal prosecutions. The report, which included insights from current and former DEA agents, highlights serious concerns regarding public safety and adherence to Justice Department rules involving the seizure of the dangerous synthetic opioid. Last year, the White House had classified fentanyl as a "weapon of mass destruction."
Mustian’s investigation was sparked by a whistleblower complaint that accused the DEA of allowing fentanyl to circulate on the streets of New Mexico. Although the complaint was sent to the White House in September, it initially received little media attention. The government records related to the complaint were heavily redacted, obscuring details such as the whistleblower's identity and the specific amounts of fentanyl that were not seized. However, Mustian discovered a critical oversight in the redactions that revealed the whistleblower’s name ended with the letter "l." Leveraging this information, he connected with the whistleblower, David Howell, a DEA agent with 19 years of service.
One of the focal points of the report is the DEA's tactical decision to allow drugs to "walk" in an effort to catch larger dealers. This strategy, criticized by some agents regarding the handling of fentanyl, raises critical questions due to the drug's extreme potency and potential lethality. The DEA's "One Pill Can Kill" campaign warns that even a small amount of fentanyl can be fatal. Recently, agents monitored a shipment of 74,000 counterfeit pills at a mobile home park in Albuquerque but chose not to seize it, even as opioid overdoses were skyrocketing across the nation. Howell likened this decision to “providing one fentanyl pill to each person at a football stadium.”
Federal officials defended this controversial stance, with Alex Uballez, the U.S. attorney for Albuquerque at that time, stating that allowing drugs to walk could ultimately save more lives by targeting larger drug operations. The DEA, in response to concerns about its operations, released a statement claiming that public descriptions insinuating that it knowingly allowed fentanyl to circulate were false and mischaracterized the facts. They maintained that the law enforcement decisions made were lawful and reasonable.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the investigation for Mustian was the stark contrast between law enforcement operations and public awareness of those activities. He emphasized the substantial discretion afforded to federal agents and the complexities of the investigations that are often hidden from public view. Many government operations, including the ones described, do not fall under the purview of the Freedom of Information Act, making it difficult to hold them accountable.
Howell, feeling compelled to report the DEA's practices, filed a formal whistleblower complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in late 2023. This included providing DEA reports, emails, and text messages concerning the transactions that were deliberately allowed to proceed without intervention. Following Howell's complaint, the OSC expressed serious concerns and requested an investigation from the Justice Department. However, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility concluded in 2024 that the DEA’s decisions to allow drugs to go unseized posed no specific danger to public health, prompting criticism that critical issues were overlooked.
