DEA Agent Alleges Agency Allowed Millions of Fentanyl Pills to Circulate

A veteran Drug Enforcement Administration agent claims the federal agency has permitted millions of lethal fentanyl pills to reach the public. David Howell, an active DEA Special Agent, made the allegation in his first television interview. He stated that managers ignored his warnings for three years regarding the volume of drugs entering the market.

Howell described a strategy called 'walking,' where investigators allow traffickers to distribute product to build larger cases. He argued that this method is particularly dangerous with fentanyl due to the drug's high potency. Howell said the agency received specific instructions to stop the practice for this substance, yet the tactics continued.

The agent detailed a 2023 operation in Albuquerque where his team tracked a suspect from the air. Images from the House Oversight Committee showed the suspect driving a white SUV to pick up a child. Howell said the team stopped the vehicle to prevent the drugs from going to the home. Agents secured the child and detained the driver.

Inside the SUV, officers found a gun hidden in a compartment under the seat where the child had been sitting. Howell reported that agents recovered between 6,000 and 7,000 fentanyl pills. He said the team expected praise for removing the drugs from circulation. Instead, officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico criticized the decision.

Howell said the prosecutors were willing to let the fentanyl go to the house with the child. He noted that the local U.S. Attorney's Office called the agents in to reprimand them. The whistleblower complaint was originally reported by The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal in June of last year.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has sued the federal government over the practice of letting fentanyl walk. Torrez stated that the state's worsening drug crisis is directly connected to this federal tactic. Officials in the Albuquerque area have declared a state of emergency due to rising overdose calls.

The Department of Justice said Administrator Cole requested an independent investigation by the DOJ Inspector General when the whistleblower came forward. The DOJ stated the investigation remains ongoing and declined to comment further. The DEA added that it will implement any improvements identified by the review.