DEA Permitted Fentanyl On Streets To Target Cartels | Image by Shutterstock AI/Shutterstock
An investigation by The Associated Press has revealed that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025 as part of a strategy to build larger cases against drug traffickers.
According to the report, DEA agents monitored shipments via wiretaps and other intelligence but often did not seize them immediately. The tactic, described as a form of “controlled delivery,” aimed to map out larger trafficking networks. One operation reportedly allowed at least 1.8 million pills to circulate before culminating in a record seizure of more than 3 million pills in May 2025.
The AP report, published June 22, 2026, drew on interviews with three current and former DEA agents and government records. It focused on operations in New Mexico, where agents tracked fentanyl shipments but permitted them to reach users in some instances.
Former DEA supervisor David Howell, a 19-year veteran who spoke as a whistleblower, expressed concern over the approach amid rising overdoses. The report noted cases where agents tallied precise pill counts, such as one delivery of 74,000 pills to an Albuquerque mobile home park in June 2023.
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