A veteran Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent has alleged that federal authorities, operating during the Biden administration, allowed significant quantities of fentanyl to reach New Mexico communities. These actions were reportedly part of long-running investigations targeting sophisticated drug trafficking organizations, an approach now under renewed scrutiny amidst the ongoing national opioid crisis.
The allegations come from DEA Special Agent David Howell, an experienced investigator whose whistleblower disclosures have been reviewed by multiple news organizations and detailed in legal filings. Howell contends that between 2023 and 2025, agents observed major fentanyl shipments, including hundreds of thousands to over one million counterfeit pills, but were, in some instances, directed not to seize the drugs immediately. This strategy, according to Howell, was implemented as part of broader investigative efforts aimed at dismantling larger trafficking networks operating in the Albuquerque region.
Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight and Howell’s legal counsel, stated that Howell initially raised internal concerns after participating in a federal wiretap investigation where agents were instructed to delay enforcement action on known fentanyl shipments. Leavitt added that Howell's disclosures expanded to include claims that more than one million counterfeit pills might have been left unseized during extended operations designed to track higher-level traffickers. Following his objections to these tactics, Howell was reportedly removed from courtroom testimony roles. He has since called for congressional and inspector general review of the DEA’s practices.
In 2023, Howell submitted a formal whistleblower complaint to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), outlining specific instances where he believed federal agents and prosecutors knowingly allowed large fentanyl deliveries to proceed under surveillance operations. The OSC subsequently referred the matter for further review, identifying what officials described as a credible basis to examine potential misconduct in how these cases were handled.
Federal agencies have defended the investigative approach, emphasizing that decisions to monitor rather than immediately seize narcotics were tied to court-authorized wiretaps and long-term efforts. Officials stated that the primary goal was to identify and dismantle entire trafficking networks, not merely to intercept individual transactions at the street level. This strategy, they noted, was used selectively and weighed against broader operational objectives. Former U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez, who previously served in New Mexico, acknowledged that law enforcement sometimes permits limited movement of narcotics during active investigations to gather intelligence on larger criminal organizations. Uballez indicated that prosecutorial decisions often consider resource constraints and the overarching objective of disrupting broader supply chains.
Internal Justice Department guidance concerning fentanyl investigations, originally developed in 2017, directed agents to prevent the distribution of the synthetic opioid whenever feasible due to its extreme lethality. Publicly described revisions and internal summaries indicate that this policy was updated in 2024. The revised guidance provides investigators with greater discretion, allowing them to balance immediate interdiction with the potential benefits of continuing surveillance in complex trafficking cases.
Howell has argued that the precise consequences of allowing fentanyl shipments to remain in circulation cannot be fully measured, as authorities often cannot track the ultimate destination of each pill once it enters the illicit market. He maintains that even limited lapses in interception during surveillance operations may have contributed to overdose deaths. However, officials have disputed the ability to directly link specific unseized shipments to individual fatalities.
Leavitt and other advocates are now pressing for formal congressional hearings and an independent Justice Department inspector general investigation. Their aim is to determine whether investigative decisions made in New Mexico reflect broader policy failures within federal drug enforcement. Lawmakers have begun referencing these allegations as part of wider scrutiny into federal fentanyl enforcement strategy and its impact on overdose rates nationwide.
