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New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Friday announced a criminal investigation into allegations that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) knowingly allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach New Mexico communities while agents pursued larger criminal investigations.
The inquiry comes days after The Associated Press reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored—but did not seize—large fentanyl shipments between 2023 and 2025 while attempting to build broader criminal cases.
Torrez said the investigation will examine potential legal remedies, including criminal prosecution, civil litigation and structural reforms intended to prevent similar conduct by DEA agents in the future.
“The families who have lost children, siblings, and parents to fentanyl deserve the truth about what the federal government knew and what it failed to do,” Torrez said in a statement.
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Photo released by the DEA shows fentanyl pills seized in New Mexico on April 28, 2025, as the agency faces scrutiny over allegations it allowed other shipments to reach the streets. (DEA via AP)
“If the DEA stood by while poison flooded our communities, that is not a bureaucratic failure,” he continued. “It is a betrayal of the people it was sworn to protect.”
Torrez said his office “will pursue every legal avenue available to hold the responsible parties accountable and make certain this never happens again.”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called for the investigation earlier this week, saying she was “appalled” by allegations that federal agents knowingly allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach communities across the state.
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New Mexico’s attorney general has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that DEA agents allowed large fentanyl shipments to reach local communities while pursuing larger criminal cases. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
“Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway,” Grisham said. “The result: hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids. Hundreds of New Mexican kids growing up without stable parents. All while the federal government stood by.”
Grisham also pointed to allegations that DEA agents monitored the delivery of 74,000 fentanyl pills to a mobile home park in Albuquerque without intervening.
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DEA Special Agent David Howell, who filed a whistleblower complaint, poses for a portrait outside the U.S. district courthouse in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
“Shockingly, the federal government stood by while monitoring shipments, tallying exact pill counts, and watching as these deadly drugs hit the streets,” she said.
Current and former DEA agents, including whistleblower David Howell, told the AP the agency’s tactics gambled with public safety and may have violated Department of Justice guidelines.
While the DEA initially denied Howell’s allegations in a statement to the AP, the agency later requested that the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent review.
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Fentanyl pills seized by the DEA in New Mexico on April 28, 2025. New Mexico officials have since launched a criminal investigation into allegations involving the agency’s handling of separate fentanyl shipments. (DEA via AP)
“Should that review identify areas of improvement, the DEA will of course implement changes to better their practices,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “We welcome a partnership with Governor Lujan Grisham, as well as New Mexico state and local leaders, to fight the scourge of fentanyl and keep her constituents safe.”
The allegations stem from enforcement operations conducted during the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, even as the DEA promoted its “One Pill Can Kill” public awareness campaign warning that even a small amount of fentanyl can be fatal.
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Digital has reached out to the DEA for comment regarding the investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
