AP findings spur NM governor to demand federal probe into DEA fentanyl handling

AP’s investigation shows a DEA strategy that prioritized large drug-network seizures, with reports of fentanyl shipments going unseized in New Mexico, including a 2023 event surveilling 74,000 pills. New Mexico’s overdose deaths rose 21% last year. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is calling for a federal investigation and accountability, arguing lives in the state were at risk. DEA whistleblower David Howell and Empower Oversight are urging Senate and DOJ oversight, while victims’ groups criticize the agency’s approach amid public-health warnings that 'one pill can kill.'