4 Investigates: Exclusive interview with the DEA whistleblower

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — On August 20, 2026, the same day he marked his 20th anniversary with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Special Agent David Howell sat down for an exclusive interview with KOB 4’s Tessa Mentus, reflecting on two decades spent fighting drug trafficking in New Mexico and explaining why he ultimately became a whistleblower against his own agency.

“It’s because today is my 20-year anniversary with the DEA,” Howell said when asked about the significance of the interview date. “It feels absolutely incredible. Incredible that I made it 20 years.”

Howell has spent all 20 years of his DEA career in New Mexico after first serving in the U.S. Navy.  He says his mission has always been straightforward: protect the public.

“I took an oath at Quantico just like everyone else did, and I take it serious,” Howell said. “If you were to ask me to sum up our job in one sentence, it would be to protect the public.”

That belief, he says, is what ultimately led him to challenge the agency he has served for two decades.

Why Howell said he had to challenge his agency

According to Howell, the turning point came with the rise of fentanyl.

“I would say that it did what heroin did, except it made it 10 times worse,” he said. “So it killed more people. It was more accessible.”

As fentanyl investigations became a major focus for agents in the Albuquerque Field Division, Howell claims agents were instructed to follow policies outlined in the Department of Justice’s Operation Interdiction Protocol.

“The policy said that protecting the people was paramount,” Howell said. “It meant above all else. It meant above your investigation. We should make reasonable efforts to stop the fentanyl from reaching the streets.”

But Howell alleges the agency’s actions often did not match that stated goal.  Howell says one incident in April 2023 crystallized his concerns.  During a fentanyl wiretap investigation, Howell says he and his partner conducted traffic stops based on intercepted information. Howell says they seized fentanyl and a loaded firearm from a vehicle carrying an elementary school-aged child.

Rather than being praised, Howell alleges they were reprimanded.

“We were told, like, ‘Why did you do that?'” Howell recalled.

He says supervisors told them they may have traumatized the child and questioned why the drugs were taken.

“We were told that possibly we had traumatized the child and that we stole the bad guy’s drugs,” Howell said.  “We took the drugs without telling the bad guy we took them, so we tricked the bad guy,” Howell said.  “One of the giant misconceptions throughout this entire investigation is that stopping someone from selling drugs is going to ruin a case, and that’s simply not true,” he said.

The most serious allegations

Howell’s most serious allegations involve what he describes as agents observing drug shipments rather than intervening.  He claims during one investigation, a suspected load vehicle carrying drugs arrived in Albuquerque from El Paso. Howell said he asked a supervisor whether agents planned to stop the vehicle.  The answer, he alleges, was no.

“I took photographs of this person arriving to the apartment, and then they just watched her unload the vehicle,” Howell said. “That’s what we did. We watched them unload the drugs.”

Howell claims individuals connected to that apartment later sold approximately 74,000 fentanyl pills that same night.  Asked why agents would use that approach, Howell says he was given a clear explanation.

“The investigation comes first,” he said.

For Howell, that represented a departure from what he believed should be the agency’s primary mission.  In August 2023, after what he says were repeated unsuccessful efforts to raise concerns internally, Howell filed a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General.

“The last thing I want to do is shame my agency,” Howell said. “But I felt like I had to do it because there was no other option for me.”

Alleged retaliation

Howell says he immediately informed his chain of command that he had become a whistleblower.  What followed, he alleges, was retaliation.  Howell says supervisors later called him to El Paso and effectively removed him from active investigations.

“The reason for it was because the U.S. Attorney’s Office was afraid of what I would testify to if I was called upon to testify on the stand,” Howell claimed. “They were afraid that I would say that we walk fentanyl in Albuquerque.”

When asked what officials would fear if the practices were consistent with policy, Howell responded bluntly:

“Exactly. They’re afraid of the truth.”

Howell says he was eventually sidelined from field work altogether. He alleges his performance evaluations declined and equipment he previously used for surveillance was no longer available.  When he returned to investigations, Howell says he no longer had access to a high-powered surveillance camera and instead relied on his phone.

“So how did you take pictures?” Mentus asked.

“My iPhone,” Howell replied.

“Your iPhone?”

“Yes.”

“You take surveillance photos of suspected drug traffickers?”

“Yes. It’s better than no photo.”

Did an updated fentanyl protocol make things worse?

The DEA updated its fentanyl protocol in June 2024, about 10 months after Howell says he first raised concerns through formal whistleblower channels.  The revised policy gave agents and prosecutors additional discretion when making investigative decisions.  Howell argues the changes made the problem worse, not better.  He is no longer alone in speaking out. Two other agents in the Albuquerque office have also become whistleblowers.  Despite the controversy, Howell remains employed by the DEA.

“You still work there?” Mentus asked.

“I do,” he answered.

“What’s that like?”

“It’s hard. I’ve made a lot of enemies, but I just always go back to, what did I do wrong? What are we here for? All I did was tell the truth.”

When asked what Howell would say to families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses, he got emotional.

“I would tell them I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t even have words to say. It’s shameful. Our conduct has been shameful, and it needs to stop.”

Twenty years after taking an oath to serve and protect, Howell says he is still guided by the same question that launched his career.

“What are we here to do?” he asked. “Is it not to protect the public?”

Reaching out to the DEA

We reached out to the DEA and requested an interview about Agent Howell’s claims.  A media spokesperson said no one could comment because it is an active investigation.

See also:

• 4 Investigates: The day a DEA agent knocked
• 4 Investigates: Feds to take a new look at DEA Fentanyl Fallout in New Mexico
• 4 Investigates: The ego and politics inside drug enforcement
• 4 Investigates: Governor wants President Trump to respond to DEA whistleblower claims

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