US watchdog to probe DEA tactic that let fentanyl reach streets
The Justice Department's inspector general will review whether DEA agents allowed fentanyl shipments to proceed to build larger trafficking cases.
The U.S. Justice Department's internal watchdog has opened a review into a controversial investigative tactic that may have allowed deadly fentanyl to reach American streets.
Inspector General Don Berthiaume announced the review on Monday, just days after being sworn into office. The inquiry will examine whether Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, during wiretap investigations over the past two years, learned of fentanyl deliveries in advance but chose not to intercept them in order to build larger cases against trafficking networks.
This practice, known in law enforcement circles as allowing drugs to "walk," has drawn sharp criticism from current and former agents who say it gambles with public safety. The review follows reporting that DEA agents in New Mexico repeatedly monitored major fentanyl shipments between 2023 and 2025 without seizing them.
In one documented instance, agents watched a delivery of 74,000 fentanyl pills arrive at an Albuquerque mobile home park and declined to interdict it. The decision came amid the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history and while the DEA ran its "One Pill Can Kill" public awareness campaign.
DEA Administrator Terry Cole had earlier requested a narrower inspector general inquiry after a whistleblower complaint from Agent David Howell. Howell has alleged that federal authorities "poisoned our community to make cases" in New Mexico.
Two additional whistleblowers have since come forward. One said colleagues failed to seize 350,000 fentanyl pills learned about during the first call intercepted in a 2024 wiretap. Another filed a complaint alleging agents monitored a courier making repeated fentanyl deliveries from Phoenix to Albuquerque without making arrests.
New Mexico authorities are separately investigating whether DEA agents broke state law. Attorney General Raúl Torrez has threatened to sue the Justice Department over its refusal to share records, writing that "the state is bearing the societal and financial harms of an influx of fentanyl into its communities."
The inspector general's review will determine whether similar tactics were used in other cities and whether the practice violated Justice Department rules.