{"id":6331,"date":"2026-06-26T14:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7719949\/new-mexico-opens-criminal-probe-of-dea-after-agents-allowed-fentanyl-shipments-to-hit-streets-2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T14:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T21:52:13","slug":"new-mexico-opens-criminal-probe-of-dea-after-agents-allowed-fentanyl-shipments-to-hit-streets-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6331\/new-mexico-opens-criminal-probe-of-dea-after-agents-allowed-fentanyl-shipments-to-hit-streets-2\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico opens criminal probe of DEA after agents allowed fentanyl shipments to hit streets"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Mexico’s attorney general on Friday opened a criminal investigation to determine whether U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law by allowing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets of Albuquerque. <\/p>\n

The extraordinary inquiry comes less than a week after The Associated Press reported<\/a> that DEA agents repeatedly monitored \u2014 but did not seize \u2014 shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025. <\/p>\n

Current and former DEA agents, including whistleblower David Howell, told AP the strategy amounted to a gamble with public safety and may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public. <\/p>\n

The fentanyl went unseized amid the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history and as the DEA led a public awareness campaign \u2014 \u201cOne Pill Can Kill” \u2014 emphasizing that even a few milligrams of the substance can be lethal. <\/p>\n

The criminal investigation turns a debate over enforcement tactics into a question of whether federal agents crossed legal lines while pursuing larger trafficking organizations. <\/p>\n

New Mexico Attorney General Ra\u00fal Torrez, a Democrat, said federal agents \u201care not above the law,\u201d but they enjoy substantial legal protections when carrying out official duties. <\/p>\n

Still, Torrez said he would start \u201cdemanding documents and information about the DEA’s conduct, in New Mexico and nationally, to determine whether what occurred here reflects a broader pattern of reckless or unlawful behavior.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf those allegations are accurate, the consequences for New Mexicans were not abstract. They were fatal,\u201d Torrez wrote in a letter to Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who earlier this week called for the inquiry.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Mexico already ranks among the states hardest hit by fentanyl overdose deaths,” he added, “and the families who have lost children, siblings and parents to this crisis deserve a full accounting of what the federal government knew, what it did and what it failed to do.” <\/p>\n

The DEA initially denied Howell’s allegations in a statement to AP. But the agency later called upon the Justice Department’s independent watchdog to conduct its own investigation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cShould that review identify areas of improvement, the DEA will of course implement changes to better their practices,\u201d the Justice Department said in a statement. \u201cWe welcome a partnership with Governor Lujan Grisham, as well as New Mexico state and local leaders, to fight the scourge of fentanyl and keep her constituents safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

A growing number of local and state leaders in New Mexico have expressed outrage in the wake of Howell’s allegations. But those sentiments are not widely held by family members of overdose victims, said Paul E. Martin, founder of United Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit organization fighting the epidemic that represents 5,000 family members of victims. <\/p>\n

\u201cLaw enforcement makes mistakes,” Martin said. \u201cBut the DEA are the men and women putting their lives on the line. Their entire business is the removal of illegal and toxic drugs from our streets.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
DEA Special Agent David Howell, who filed a whistleblower complaint, poses for a portrait outside the U.S. district courthouse in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Susan Montoya Bryan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Mexico’s attorney general on Friday opened a criminal investigation to determine whether U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law by allowing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets of Albuquerque. The extraordinary inquiry comes less than a week after The Associated Press reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored \u2014 but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":6332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"877912c2-a48c-4eb7-a155-31029f10e4c5","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Jim Mustian","published":"2026-06-26 14:52:13","updated":"2026-06-26 14:52:13","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1317,1303,533,1304],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-6331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-international","category-lifestyles","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6331\/new-mexico-opens-criminal-probe-of-dea-after-agents-allowed-fentanyl-shipments-to-hit-streets-2\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"New Mexico opens criminal probe of DEA after agents allowed fentanyl shipments to hit streets","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6331\/new-mexico-opens-criminal-probe-of-dea-after-agents-allowed-fentanyl-shipments-to-hit-streets-2\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6331\/new-mexico-opens-criminal-probe-of-dea-after-agents-allowed-fentanyl-shipments-to-hit-streets-2\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-fc252c5d9c521e45dd6dfa6ea2ec2944afde8b9dd639ee3a2a66ffd9dfde8840.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-fc252c5d9c521e45dd6dfa6ea2ec2944afde8b9dd639ee3a2a66ffd9dfde8840.jpg"},"articleSection":"Health","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-06-26T21:52:13Z","datePublished":"2026-06-26T21:52:13Z","dateModified":"2026-06-26T21:52:13Z"},"rendered":"