Full Breakdown
DOJ Inspector General Launches Review of DEA “Walk” Tactic in New Mexico
8/19/2026, 2:25:53 AM
Core Event: Inspector General Review of DEA “Walk” Practice
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, led by Don Berthiaume, announced a nationwide review of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s practice of allowing fentanyl shipments to reach the street while investigations continue. The inquiry will focus on DOJ actions over the past two years and assess whether agents knowingly permitted deliveries despite policies intended to protect public safety. The review follows an Associated Press investigation that documented monitoring—but not seizure—of major fentanyl shipments in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025.
Background & Context
The change coincided with the administration’s description of fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” DEA Administrator Terry Cole requested a narrower probe after the June 21 AP stories, which were based in part on a whistleblower complaint filed by veteran DEA agent David Howell in 2023.
Data & Statistics
- An internal DEA report detailed a delivery of 74,000 fentanyl pills to a mobile-home park in Albuquerque that was not intercepted.
- One whistleblower estimated more than 2 million pills were “walked” from 2023 to 2025 to build larger cases.
- A 2024 wiretap identified 350,000 pills that were not seized.
- New Mexico recorded 775 overdose deaths in 2024, an age-adjusted rate of 37.1 per 100,000—more than twice the national average.
Official Statements & Responses
- Inspector General Don Berthiaume said the review will examine whether DEA offices delayed or declined risk-mitigation actions and how such decisions were documented.
- New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez wrote that “the state is bearing the societal and financial harms of an influx of fentanyl into its communities.”
- The U.S. Office of Special Counsel later reported that Howell’s complaint was unsubstantiated and that no substantial harm had occurred.
Criticism & Opposition
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller described the “walk” practice as reckless, arguing it jeopardizes public health in a state already facing the nation’s highest overdose rates. Tristan Leavitt, president of the whistleblower advocacy group Empower Oversight, called for a return to the 2017 seizure policy, asserting that the tactic needlessly puts Americans at risk.
On-the-Ground Reports
An internal DEA document obtained by the Associated Press shows agents monitoring the 74,000-pill delivery to the Albuquerque mobile-home park and opting not to interdict it. A second whistleblower reported that agents failed to seize a shipment of 350,000 pills despite knowledge of its contents.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
The Office of Special Counsel concluded that Howell’s complaint lacked substantiation, while multiple DEA whistleblowers maintain that hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills reached the street unchecked. The Inspector General’s review has yet to determine whether DOJ policies were violated or whether similar “walk” decisions occurred in other districts.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We welcome a third-party review of the tactics DEA and the New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s Office used to needlessly put Americans at risk of exposure to fentanyl,” — Tristan Leavitt, Empower Oversight
- “The state is bearing the societal and financial harms of an influx of fentanyl into its communities," Torrez wrote in a letter to federal authorities earlier this month.” — Attorney General Raúl Torrez
What’s Next
The Inspector General’s office will issue a public report upon completing its review. New Mexico’s Attorney General has threatened legal action to compel the release of DEA records, and a potential federal-state court clash looms over the pending document request. State investigators continue to examine whether DEA actions violated New Mexico law.
