ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday to obtain records tied to claims DEA agents let fentanyl reach New Mexico communities.
Torrez said the records are necessary for the New Mexico Department of Justice’s investigation. The investigation focuses on allegations that DEA agents knowingly allowed large quantities of fentanyl to be distributed in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Department of Justice said the investigation began after whistleblowers alleged federal agents and prosecutors used a practice known as “fentanyl walking.” The allegations say agents allowed fentanyl shipments to continue during investigations aimed at identifying higher-level drug traffickers.
4 Investigates took a close look at the whistleblower claims and competing approaches within the DEA. Critics of the DEA’s approach argue institutional incentives may reward lengthy, complex investigations over immediate enforcement, with professional rivalries driving a wedge within the agency.
The allegations include claims that the practice happened in New Mexico between 2022 and 2025 and may have violated the federal government’s own fentanyl protocols. The complaint also alleges New Mexico saw a 21-percent increase in overdose deaths during the period under investigation while overdose deaths nationally declined by 14 percent.
“Fentanyl is devasting families across New Mexico, and we deserve to know the truth about the DEA’s practice of...
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