An investigation by The Associated Press has revealed that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025 as part of a strategy to build larger cases against drug traffickers.
According to the report, DEA agents monitored shipments via wiretaps and other intelligence but often did not seize them immediately. The tactic, described as a form of “controlled delivery,” aimed to map out larger trafficking networks. One operation reportedly allowed at least 1.8 million pills to circulate before culminating in a record seizure of more than 3 million pills in May 2025.
The AP Investigation and DEA Strategy
The AP report, published June 22, 2026, drew on interviews with three current and former DEA agents and government records. It focused on operations in New Mexico, where agents tracked fentanyl shipments but permitted them to reach users in some instances.
Former DEA supervisor David Howell, a 19-year veteran who spoke as a whistleblower, expressed concern over the approach amid rising overdoses. The report noted cases where agents tallied precise pill counts, such as one delivery of 74,000 pills to an Albuquerque mobile home park in June 2023.
The DEA has defended the practice as a standard law enforcement technique aligned with Justice Department guidance. The agency has long maintained it cannot seize every shipment and prioritizes dismantling entire networks over individual interdictions.
Similar “controlled delivery” operations have been used in past drug investigations, per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
This is not the first time such tactics have drawn scrutiny. The approach echoes elements of the 2011 ATF “Fast and Furious” operation involving firearms.
Fentanyl’s Deadly Toll in the United States
Fentanyl remains one of the leading causes of drug overdose deaths despite provisional U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showing a significant decline in recent years.
Drug overdose deaths fell from 110,037 in 2023 to 80,391 in 2024, with opioid deaths dropping from 83,140 to 54,743. Synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, drove much of that decline.
In 2023, fentanyl was involved in the majority of opioid deaths. The age-adjusted death rate for synthetic opioids other than methadone fell 35.6% from 2023 to 2024.
How Fentanyl Enters the Country
The vast majority (more than 90%) of illicit fentanyl enters the United States through the southwest border with Mexico, primarily at legal ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mexican cartels, notably the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, produce the drug using precursor chemicals largely sourced from China, per the Congressional Research Service Report. It is typically smuggled in passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, or concealed on individuals.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the DEA continue large-scale seizures. From January 20, 2025, through mid-2025, the DEA reported seizing approximately 44 million fentanyl pills and 4,500 pounds of fentanyl powder.
Texas and Local Efforts
Texas has taken aggressive steps to combat fentanyl. In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation treating fentanyl-related deaths as murder, enhancing penalties for manufacturing and delivery, and requiring death certificates to note fentanyl poisoning.
Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched public awareness campaigns and pushed for stronger federal action against cartels. Dallas County and local agencies run educational programs such as “One Pill Kills” and distribute naloxone.
Additional Coverage by The Dallas Express
The Dallas Express has reported extensively on the fentanyl crisis and federal enforcement challenges.
For additional readings on this topic, see below:
- Dallas County Records First Fentanyl Murder Conviction After Fatal Overdose (June 2026) — Covers Texas’s fentanyl murder statute in action.
- Paxton Launches Campaign Highlighting Dangers Of Fentanyl (June 9, 2026) — Texas Attorney General’s public awareness efforts.
- 57 Million Lethal Fentanyl Doses Taken Off Streets – DEA Operation (May 5, 2026) — Major DEA seizure and national trends.
- Major Drug Busts In Dallas: Fentanyl, Cocaine, And Firearms (June 9, 2025) — Local enforcement actions in Dallas.
- The Fight Against Fentanyl (April 7, 2024) — In-depth look at the national and local crisis, seizures, and response.
- Cowtown Community To Come Together Against Fentanyl (May 2, 2024) — Community response and local statistics in Fort Worth.
