CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — A Drug Enforcement Administration whistleblower alleges federal prosecutors in New Mexico discouraged agents from seizing large fentanyl shipments during investigations, a decision he says may have allowed deadly drugs to reach communities across the country, including West Virginia.
The allegations, first reported by The Associated Press, are under review by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General.
DEA Special Agent David Howell alleges federal prosecutors instructed agents in 2023 to allow some fentanyl shipments to continue moving as part of efforts to build larger conspiracy cases against drug trafficking organizations.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Howell said, "Through our own willful blindness, we get to say we don't really know what happened to the drugs, but we 100% got people killed."
Howell's attorney, West Virginia-based Tristan Leavitt, said his client first raised concerns through federal whistleblower channels in 2023 before deciding to speak publicly.
Leavitt said Howell became concerned after federal prosecutors were upset when he seized thousands of fentanyl pills during an investigation.
"He made seizures of some 6,000 to 7,000 pills, and the U.S. attorney's office in New Mexico was unhappy with him," Leavitt said. "They had a federal wiretap up. They did not want him to seize those pills."
Leavitt said there is no way to determine where specific fentanyl pills ultimately end up but argued it...
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