House Republicans launch investigation into DEA tactic that allowed fentanyl to hit streets

Lettering marks Drug Enforcement Administration agent’s uniforms in Florida, June 13, 2016. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File) By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN Updated 3:46 PM MESZ, August 31, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit MIAMI (AP) — A controversial policing tactic that permitted staggering amounts of deadly fentanyl to reach the streets as federal authorities sought to build bigger drug cases is now under investigation by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee. The committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting records related to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s controversial strategy of monitoring — yet not seizing — major fentanyl shipments. The request echoes concerns raised by officials in New Mexico, the epicenter of the fentanyl crisis, where DEA whistleblowers recently reported being ordered to stand down rather than seize hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills in possible violation of Justice Department rules intended to safeguard communities. Last week, the state’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, sued the Justice Department seeking to force it to turn over some of the same records being sought by Republicans on Comer’s committee. “While DEA agents may not have the resources to intercept every single known shipment, a policy directing them not to intercept significant shipments is unconscionable and undoubtedly resulted in considerable harm and lives lost,” Comer wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. The DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Justice Department watchdog to review DEA tactic that permitted deadly fentanyl to hit streets 3 MIN READ Key takeaways about pain specialist to star athletes accused of issuing illegal opioid prescriptions 6 MIN READ She was a pain specialist to top athletes. Her opioid prescribing alarmed the DEA 6 MIN READ The lawsuit and congressional inquiry come two months after an AP investigation found DEA agents repeatedly monitored major fentanyl shipments in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025 that were allowed to hit the streets as federal authorities built out criminal cases. The fentanyl went unseized amid the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history and even as DEA led a public awareness campaign — “One Pill Can Kill” — emphasizing that even a few milligrams of the substance can be lethal. Last year, the White House designated the synthetic opioid a “weapon of mass destruction.” Comer requested records covering only the Biden administration, citing what he described as its “relaxation of fentanyl risk mitigation protocols” developed during President Donald Trump’s first term. The protocols, Comer said, should have prevented the fentanyl from hitting the streets in such large numbers. The earlier policy, adopted in 2017, called on agents to “seize or otherwise prevent the distribution” of fentanyl “as soon as practicable.” The department rewrote those rules in 2024 to afford law enforcement far more discretion in whether to take action to prevent fentanyl trafficking, citing “the benefits to be achieved through preserving the investigation.” AP reporting found the investigative strategy — known as allowing drugs to “walk” — continued into Trump’s second administration during the run-up to the largest fentanyl bust in DEA history, a takedown announced in May 2025 by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. As part of that investigation, authorities seized some 3 million fentanyl pills. But even larger quantities went unseized as agents in Albuquerque stood by and watched as drug couriers entered hotels with backpacks believed to be carrying as many as 100,000 fentanyl pills. The entire network could have been dismantled six months earlier, according to a former DEA supervisor who worked on the case and is now among three whistleblowers sounding the alarm about the longstanding practice. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog this month announced a nationwide review of government policies and wiretap investigations to determine whether federal authorities have used the same tactic elsewhere. “Our investigations are long term and they are complex and they are done under the guidance of the law,” DEA Administrator Terry Cole said in an interview this month with Fox News welcoming the inspector general’s review. “We will continue to do that, but we need to stay 100% focused on the adversary.” JOSHUA GOODMAN Goodman is a Miami-based investigative reporter who writes about the intersection of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and politics in Latin America. He previously spent two decades reporting from South America. twitter mailto JIM MUSTIAN Mustian is an Associated Press investigative reporter for breaking news. twitter mailto