2024 Investigative Summary 8

Investigation of Alleged Violation of Department Policy

The Office of Special Counsel referred to the Department for investigation, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 1213(c), a whistleblower disclosure that Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents and USAO prosecutors engaged in conduct that may constitute a violation of law, rule, or regulation; an abuse of authority; and a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. Specifically, a DEA special agent alleged that on multiple occasions in 2023, the USAO instructed DEA agents not to stop vehicles the agents believed were transporting fentanyl, in purported violation of the Department’s guidance and recommendations on managing the risk fentanyl presents in Title III investigations (fentanyl guidance).  The matter was assigned to OPR for investigation.

Based on its investigation, OPR found that the Department’s fentanyl guidance allows investigative teams conducting Title III investigations to use their discretion and judgment to determine how best to conduct their investigations.  The guidance reminds teams to balance the risks to public safety of not immediately seizing the suspected drugs with the longer-term goals of the investigation and includes appropriate supervisory personnel in the decision-making process.

OPR found that in the cases it reviewed, decisions not to take immediate and overt enforcement actions against suspected transfers of narcotics were made with adequate oversight and appeared reasonable under the circumstances. Accordingly, OPR found that the conduct alleged by the whistleblower did not violate the fentanyl guidance or a law, rule, or regulation, nor did it constitute an abuse of authority or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety.