The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of New Mexico between 2023 and 2025, according to current and former DEA agents and government records. This decision was made despite the DEA’s top priority being to rid the streets of illicit fentanyl, which has been designated a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ by the White House.

Fentanyl Epidemic

The fentanyl epidemic has been the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, with overdose deaths surging over the past decade. The DEA has long contended that it would not be plausible to seize every shipment of every drug, but the strategy of allowing staggering amounts of counterfeit painkillers to hit the streets has shocked several veteran agents.

Albuquerque, which has a neighborhood known as ‘War Zone’ due to its high drug activity, and other regions in New Mexico remain at the epicenter of the fentanyl epidemic. While overdose deaths nationwide fell 14% last year, government data show New Mexico tallied a 21% spike.

Investigative Decisions

Alex Uballez, who served as U.S. attorney in New Mexico from 2022 through last year, said authorities at times allowed drug shipments to go unseized as part of a broader effort to gather intelligence and build cases against major drug traffickers. The DEA said in a statement that ‘the investigative decisions at issue were lawful, reasonable under the circumstances and consistent with Department guidance.’

However, some agents and experts have expressed concerns that the tactic of allowing drugs to go unseized may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules intended to safeguard the public. The Justice Department developed guidelines for agents in such circumstances, encouraging them to seize the opioid whenever ‘practicable.’

Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.