Full Breakdown
DOJ Inspector General Launches Review of DEA “Walk” Tactic
8/17/2026, 11:59:29 PM
Review of the “Walk” Strategy
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General announced a review of the DEA’s practice of allowing fentanyl shipments to proceed—known internally as “walking” the drugs—to build larger cases against traffickers. The inquiry will examine policies and wiretap investigations from the past two years and assess whether the agency’s actions violated Justice Department rules intended to protect communities from the synthetic opioid the White House designated a “weapon of mass destruction.” The review could determine if similar shipments were permitted in other cities.
Background and Data
An Associated Press investigation previously documented that DEA agents repeatedly monitored but did not seize major fentanyl deliveries in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025. An internal DEA report described a missed interception of 74,000 pills in an Albuquerque mobile-home park. Additional whistleblowers reported that agents failed to seize 350,000 pills uncovered in a 2024 wiretap that later led to the largest fentanyl seizure in DEA history. Another complaint alleges that deliveries of 50,000-100,000 pills each from Phoenix to Albuquerque during 2022-2023 were allowed to continue.
Official Statements & Responses
Inspector General Don Berthiaume said the review will focus on the Justice Department’s actions over the past two years. Attorney General Raúl Torrez wrote that “the state is bearing the societal and financial harms of an influx of fentanyl into its communities.” The DEA has not responded to requests for comment on the review.
Verbatim Quotes
“The state is bearing the societal and financial harms of an influx of fentanyl into its communities,” — General Raúl Torrez, attorney
