DEA’s Handling of Fentanyl Shipments in New Mexico Raises Concerns

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allegedly permitted the passage of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fentanyl pills across the New Mexico border between 2023 and 2025.

In a statement to the Daily Caller, the DEA disputed this characterization, asserting that it did not knowingly let fentanyl reach local communities.

Yet, DEA Special Agent David Howell and a former supervisor, who chose to remain unnamed, revealed that the agency was aware of, and monitored, fentanyl shipments crossing the border but opted not to seize them. Instead, they reportedly utilized this information to initiate a major drug trafficking investigation.

Alex Ubarez, who held the role of federal attorney in New Mexico from 2022 to 2025, admitted to permitting some drug shipments to cross the border, justifying his actions by claiming that targeting “larger players” would ultimately “save more lives.” One such investigation culminated in the largest fentanyl seizure in DEA history, with agents confiscating around 3 million fentanyl pills in May 2025.

Despite this eventual success, Howell and several seasoned DEA agents voiced their worries that allowing such a substantial amount of drugs to enter the community posed serious health risks while the case was active. Howell remarked, “We contaminated the community to create an incident,” suggesting that their oversight led to lethal consequences.

A former supervisor, remaining anonymous, mentioned that the quantity of fentanyl taken in the bust “was on the streets every month while this case was going on” and indicated that the DEA could have dismantled the trafficking network much earlier.

While overdose deaths across the country have seen a decline, with a reported drop of 14% in 2025, New Mexico experienced a troubling 21% rise in overdose deaths, the highest increase among all states last year.

In 2023, Howell filed a whistleblower complaint claiming that the DEA knowingly allowed 1.8 million fentanyl pills to cross the border. In a particular incident, agents observed a transaction involving 74,000 pills at an Albuquerque trailer park but did not intervene.

Howell reached out to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel regarding his concerns and brought to the attention of the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility two specific instances where the DEA failed to seize deliveries of fentanyl pills totaling 150,000 and 50,000. However, the Justice Department later concluded that the inaction of federal law enforcement did not constitute a “special risk to public health.”

The DEA responded to the Daily Caller, stating, “Public statements suggesting that the DEA knowingly allowed the distribution of fentanyl into the community are false and fundamentally misrepresent the facts.” They emphasized the necessity of coordinating with USAO leadership for operational decisions and asserted that their investigative choices were lawful and reasonable under the circumstances.