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AP: DEA let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills into New Mexico

newsJun 22, 202666431

An AP investigation found the DEA allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to enter New Mexico from 2023 to 2025 by monitoring shipments without seizing them. Internal DEA records and whistleblower accounts show agents kept shipments moving to build larger federal cases rather than making local arrests. Whistleblowers, including Special Agent David Howell, say the tactic "poisoned our community" and tied permitted shipments to overdose cases, including a 15-month-old who died after ingesting burned fentanyl residue in Española. The finding matters because it exposes a stark trade-off between prosecutorial strategy and public safety and could prompt legal and policy scrutiny of DEA tactics in overdose hotspots.

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