sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Federal authorities have opted not to stop hundreds of thousands of illicit fentanyl pills from reaching New Mexico communities despite internal rules stressing that public safety was "paramount," according to records and interviews reviewed by the Journal.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration denies it has engaged in what鈥檚 called 鈥渨alking鈥� drugs in New Mexico. It鈥檚 a controversial law enforcement tactic in which agents monitor court-approved wiretaps and permit drug deals in the hopes of catching higher-level traffickers.

But U.S. District Court records in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 show that at least since 2023, as drug overdoses surged in New Mexico, multiple fentanyl sales occurred while the DEA and federal prosecutors took no immediate action to seize the deadly opioid or make arrests.

It鈥檚 unclear whether the DEA ever traced where the massive quantities of pills ended up.

It was all too much for one 19-year DEA agent in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 who filed a whistleblower complaint in mid-2023 to 鈥渟how everyone the truth.鈥�

The agent, identified as David Howell,  alleged that more than 300,000 fentanyl pills had hit the streets of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and other communities as of September 2024.

Howell alleged that a team of prosecutors and agents violated an internal U.S. Department of Justice policy aimed at protecting the public from exposure to the lethal drug.

鈥淥nce fentanyl becomes available to the public, crime is fueled and overdoses and death become possible. It is my opinion that the discretion provided is being severely misused,鈥� Howell told the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

His allegations were deemed unsubstantiated in September 2024, just after the DOJ adopted a new protocol that gave agents and prosecutors more discretion in allowing fentanyl 鈥渨alking.鈥�

Public safety was still considered 鈥減aramount,鈥� but such concerns no longer took priority over the potential success of criminal wiretap investigations under the new guidance.

鈥淭he benefits to be achieved through preserving the investigation must be assessed against the potential public safety risks posed by forgoing immediate reasonable enforcement action,鈥� the 2024 guidance states.

The investigation of Howell鈥檚 complaint by the DOJ鈥檚 Office of Professional Responsibility found the agents and prosecutors based in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 acted appropriately and within their discretion. OPR concluded in the cases it reviewed, 鈥渘o substantial or specific danger to public health and safety鈥� occurred.

 鈥淭he very fact that OPR ends up concluding that the US Attorney鈥檚 office and the DEA can use their discretion and thus make intentional decisions not to stop shipments of fentanyl 鈥� should be of grave concern,鈥� Howell鈥檚 written response to the OPR investigation stated.

鈥淚magine providing one fentanyl pill to each person at a football stadium (with some to spare.)鈥�

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Ryan Ellison, who was appointed in early 2025, told the Journal his office 鈥渟trictly scrutinizes all available information to prioritize removing fentanyl from our community while not jeopardizing large-scale investigations that present the opportunity to take down entire fentanyl distribution networks.鈥�

Since becoming a whistleblower, Howell was informed by his supervisors he could no longer testify in court. He also was told that the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office 鈥渨ill never prosecute any of my investigations again, even though I have not been accused of wrongdoing.鈥�

Spokeswomen for the DEA and the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office declined to comment on those allegations for this story.

Wiretap investigations

Though the concentration of the illicit opioid in pills manufactured by drug cartels has dropped in recent years, President Donald Trump last year declared fentanyl  a 鈥渨eapon of mass destruction.鈥�

The DEA insisted last week that, 鈥淣o drug sales transactions of suspected fentanyl were allowed to successfully occur in wiretap cases in New Mexico.鈥�

鈥淭he investigative decisions at issue were lawful, reasonable under the circumstances, and consistent with Department guidance,鈥� the DEA told the Journal.

Former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Alex Uballez, who left office in early 2025, told the Journal he couldn鈥檛 comment on specific cases or decisions made in wiretap cases. 

But he said that the strategy of not intervening in the transportation and delivery of fentanyl loads can pay off eventually.

鈥淚n order to catch more than just the street courier, you have to watch crime happen to build the case against the people who are more important in the structure. It doesn鈥檛 mean crime goes unpunished. Often, in these cases, you come back and indict everybody involved.鈥�

Asked about the quantities of fentanyl that are not seized in the meantime, Uballez didn鈥檛 deny the practice has occurred.

鈥淢illions of fentanyl pills get onto our streets, period. That鈥檚 just the truth of it,鈥� Uballez said. 鈥淎nd our failure to actually attack the cartels and the leaders who are bringing them to our city allows that to happen.鈥�

New Mexico鈥檚 fentanyl epidemic 

Fentanyl remains the leading killer in fatal drug overdoses nationwide. 

And while the surge of U.S. deaths has dropped overall, New Mexico had the highest reported percentage increase of drug overdose deaths in the country from January 2025 to January 2026, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Drug overdose deaths , but increased nearly 23% in New Mexico over the prior 12 months. South Dakota reported the second largest increase, at 14%. 

It鈥檚 the second straight year that New Mexico has led the nation in the increase in overdose deaths.

Nonfatal suspected fentanyl overdoses treated in New Mexico emergency departments have spiked to their highest since January 2023, according to CDC data.

Howell stated in his whistleblower complaint that DEA agents in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 were called to a meeting in late 2022 or 2023 and informed that the DOJ issued a special fentanyl protocol for federal agents conducting wiretaps.

Agents should 鈥渕ake reasonable efforts to prevent the distribution鈥� if they have probable cause that a suspect intends to distribute fentanyl, stated the protocol.

Depending on the immediacy of the threat, the interdiction could include making arrests or having local law enforcement stop the shipments for traffic violations.

Agents were to seek a search warrant 鈥渁s soon as practicable鈥� if probable cause existed to believe fentanyl was being stored at a particular location, such as a stash house, 鈥�... regardless of whether they (agents) run the risk of compromising the investigation, protecting the public safety is paramount,鈥� stated the protocol.

Howell complained to his supervisors when he noticed that protocol being ignored. 

In addition, Howell stated, 鈥渃ertain鈥� assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing wiretap investigations in 2023 鈥渢ried to stop me from conducting enforcement actions on subjects that I believed were selling fentanyl.鈥� 

In one instance, he and another agent learned from a wiretap that  鈥渁 sale of fentanyl in the six to seven thousand range was imminent.鈥� After setting up the suspects for surveillance, agents conducted a traffic stop that resulted in a seizure of fentanyl and a firearm from a vehicle. Afterward, his complaint alleged, an assistant U.S. attorney appeared disappointed and asked, 鈥淲hy鈥檇 you do that?鈥�

He stated that the prosecutor, who wasn鈥檛 identified, later said something to the effect of 鈥渏ust get a license plate.鈥�

Another time, Howell stated he had approval from a DEA assistant special agent in charge and another supervisor for a traffic stop on a supplier. That stop resulted in the seizure of a kilo of cocaine rather than fentanyl.

In its conclusion, OPR defended other instances where fentanyl loads weren鈥檛 seized, stating that an 鈥渁ttempted enforcement action could have tipped off the organization 鈥�potentially ruining years of work.鈥�

Howell disagreed, stating, 鈥淭his excuse can be made each and every time we do anything in law enforcement. Even after encountering setbacks during investigations, agents still have the ability to rebound, make corrections and continue on.鈥�

In concurring with OPR, the Office of Special Counsel in September, stated that 鈥減rosecutors and investigators need to have the flexibility to choose the operational approaches they have concluded are the most effective. ... To that end, as noted by agency leadership and other USAO and DOJ employees, stopping a low level suspect may cause more harm on balance because it may put senior members of a trafficking organization on notice of vulnerabilities to their operations or of law enforcement activities or surveillance.鈥�

Meanwhile, a Fairfax, Virginia, nonprofit federal whistleblower protection organization, Empower Oversight, contends Howell is being retaliated against.

Tristan Leavitt, president of the organization, wrote a letter to the DOJ on June 2 stating that the investigative report 鈥渟hockingly whitewashes the serious violations our client reported. DOJ-OPR erroneously excused the fentanyl walking as a justified exercise of this law enforcement discretion.鈥�

鈥淪pecial Agent Howell is a decorated DEA agent who faithfully and effectively helped protect Americans from dangerous drugs for his entire 19-year care,鈥� Leavitt鈥檚 letter stated. 鈥淵et, he has essentially been benched for the final years of his career, merely because he stood up for what is right, legally and properly.鈥�