Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as the DEA watched and took no action, records show

Key Points:

• Between 2023 and 2025, the DEA allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach New Mexico streets while pursuing larger drug trafficking cases, a tactic that some agents say endangered public safety.
• DEA agents monitored but did not seize large shipments of fentanyl, including a case involving at least 1.8 million pills, in hopes of dismantling major trafficking organizations, resulting in the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history in 2025.
• Internal Justice Department guidelines initially mandated seizing fentanyl "as soon as practicable" to protect public safety, but were revised in 2024 to allow more discretion for agents balancing investigation benefits against risks.
• Whistleblower DEA Special Agent David Howell raised concerns about the policy, linking it to overdose deaths, but faced retaliation and was sidelined, while official investigations found the DEA's approach reasonable and not posing specific public health dangers.
• New Mexico continues to suffer a severe fentanyl crisis, with overdose deaths rising 21% in 2024 despite a national decline, highlighting ongoing challenges in balancing law enforcement strategies with public safety.