Lawmakers seek answers after whistleblower allegations that agents declined to seize at least 1.8 million fentanyl pills during investigations
Organ Mountain News report
WASHINGTON - New Mexico's congressional delegation is demanding answers from the Drug Enforcement Administration after whistleblower allegations that agents allowed at least 1.8 million fentanyl pills to continue circulating in New Mexico communities rather than immediately seizing them during ongoing investigations.
U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, along with U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez, sent a letter Friday to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole seeking documents and explanations about the agency's fentanyl interdiction policies and investigative practices.
The lawmakers cited whistleblower complaints alleging Albuquerque-based DEA agents declined to interdict at least 1.8 million fentanyl pills between 2023 and 2025 in hopes of dismantling a larger trafficking organization.
"We unequivocally assert that allowing fentanyl to go unseized creates an unconscionable risk to New Mexicans," the delegation wrote.
According to the lawmakers, federal fentanyl protocols adopted in 2017 directed agents to "seize or otherwise prevent the distribution" of fentanyl "as soon as practicable." They said a 2024 revision gave investigators greater discretion to weigh public safety risks against investigative benefits, a shift the delegation urged the DEA to reverse...
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