近距离内射合集

State Attorney General Ra煤l Torrez is escalating his effort to determine why federal authorities allowed massive quantities of fentanyl to reach Albuquerque and other New Mexico communities during long-term drug investigations.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, Torrez asks a federal judge to compel the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office to turn over records related to decisions not to seize large fentanyl shipments during wiretap investigations.

鈥淔entanyl is killing New Mexicans faster than almost anywhere in the country,鈥� Torrez鈥檚 office said in the lawsuit. 鈥淣o corner of the state has escaped the fentanyl crisis.鈥�

The lawsuit is the latest effort to learn more about the DEA tactic of monitoring drug shipments but not intervening, allowing millions of fentanyl pills to reach the streets of Albuquerque and other New Mexico communities beginning in 2023.

The 近距离内射合集 and The Associated Press have reported that the controversial practice, known as 鈥渇entanyl walking,鈥� occurred in New Mexico as federal authorities sought to build larger cases against drug trafficking organizations and their leaders.

The investigative tactic was first revealed by veteran Albuquerque DEA agent David Howell, who filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel alleging that the practice was harming the community.

Howell contended the practice violated an internal DEA policy designed to mitigate the public safety risks involved in long-term wiretap investigations.

Since his initial complaint in 2023, two other current or former DEA agents have come forward with additional accounts of 鈥渇entanyl walking.鈥� They also have alleged they faced retaliation within the DEA for speaking out.

鈥淲histleblowers from within DEA have come forward with credible, detailed accounts that this fentanyl walking 鈥� carried out by certain assistant 近距离内射合集 States attorneys and certain DEA agents in at least two separate investigations between 2022 and 2025 鈥� violated U.S. DOJ鈥檚 own mandatory protocols for handling fentanyl,鈥� the lawsuit states.

The DEA has disavowed 鈥渨alking鈥� fentanyl but has also said its actions were reasonable and lawful.

The attorney general鈥檚 lawsuit cites testimony from a DEA agent who helped lead a New Mexico-based investigation into a five-state drug trafficking organization in 2024 and 2025. The investigation into Heriberto Salazar Amaya and other defendants culminated in the seizure of more than 3 million fentanyl pills, along with cash, weapons and other drugs.

But current and former DEA agents have said that while building the case, the government allowed millions of other pills to continue to their destinations as DEA teams stood by.

The lawsuit quotes testimony last year from DEA agent David Zimmerman, who described watching couriers meet with people carrying large black backpacks and duffel bags.

鈥淵ou could probably get 100,000 fentanyl pills (in a backpack), if you wanted,鈥� Zimmerman testified.

Zimmerman said the DEA 鈥渜uickly learned鈥� that one target under surveillance 鈥渨as capable of moving hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills in a couple of days.鈥�

鈥淓very couple of days he was basically calling ... asking for more drugs, more drugs,鈥� Zimmerman testified. 鈥淚t was just like a constant revolving door.鈥�

At the outset of the Salazar Amaya investigation, DEA agents monitored a transaction involving an estimated 350,000 fentanyl pills to be delivered in Albuquerque and chose not to stop the distribution, according to the lawsuit. Some agents have defended the practice as necessary because intervening could derail a larger investigation.

Howell has said he consulted with other DEA agents around the country and that 鈥渘o one I talked with had ever heard of another DEA agent 鈥榳alking鈥� a hundred thousand fentanyl pills.鈥�

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham formally requested that Torrez investigate whether the actions of DEA agents or others involved violated state laws.

New Mexico鈥檚 drug overdose death rate has ranked among the worst in the nation for more than two decades, with fentanyl driving 70% of those deaths since 2016, according to the attorney general鈥檚 lawsuit.

While the national drug overdose death toll fell by more than 13% in the 12 months ending in March 2026, fatal overdoses in New Mexico increased by nearly 27% during the same period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Torrez said he asked First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison to produce records as part of the ongoing state investigation but received little to no response, according to the lawsuit.

The U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office failed to specify a reason for refusing Torrez鈥檚 request, 鈥渙ffering little more than boilerplate language and buzzwords,鈥� the lawsuit states.

The explanation and subsequent lack of response 鈥渃annot justify (Ellison鈥檚 office鈥檚) radical departure from the ordinary norms of state-federal cooperation,鈥� the Attorney General鈥檚 Office said.

鈥淭his interference is a direct obstruction of New Mexico鈥檚 own authority to determine, on a complete record, whether its citizens were harmed by conduct occurring within its territory and whether civil or criminal remedies are warranted,鈥� the lawsuit states.

Ellison鈥檚 office had no immediate response to a Journal request for comment Thursday.

Colleen Heild is an investigative reporter for the Journal. Reach her at cheild@abqjournal.com.