近距离内射合集

Yuren Miranda-Vasquez had a free pass 鈥� while it lasted.

In November 2022, agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration stopped the drug courier as he hauled about 120,000 fentanyl pills and 10 kilograms of methamphetamine into Albuquerque from Arizona.

Instead of arresting and charging Miranda-Vasquez, agents let him go. Over the next six months, they watched as he moved an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 additional fentanyl pills into New Mexico on road trips from Phoenix.

During that time, investigators never stopped the courier or seized any drugs as hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills and other narcotics traveled into Albuquerque for distribution, according to a new whistleblower complaint filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in Washington.

The agent鈥檚 complaint is the third of its kind detailing the controversial DEA investigative practice that has allowed massive quantities of the lethal opioid to reach Albuquerque streets during long-term wiretap investigations into drug trafficking networks.

In 2023, veteran DEA agent David Howell of Albuquerque filed a confidential whistleblower complaint after he was reprimanded for stopping and seizing a suspected fentanyl shipment being monitored through a court-approved wiretap.

Howell said he was following an internal DEA risk-mitigation policy and cited multiple examples of federal prosecutors and agents violating the directive by permitting the trafficking of fentanyl.

But the U.S. Office of Special Counsel informed President Donald Trump in September that an internal investigation found the decisions not to seize the drugs that Howell criticized 鈥渁ppeared reasonable鈥� and that no substantial or specific danger to public health and safety had occurred.

Based on Howell鈥檚 complaint, federal records and interviews, the 近距离内射合集 and The Associated Press in June published reports about 鈥渇entanyl walking鈥� in New Mexico. That spurred investigations by the New Mexico attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice鈥檚 Office of Inspector General that remain ongoing.

The latest whistleblower complaint, filed Aug. 3 on behalf of an unidentified DEA agent in the agency鈥檚 Albuquerque office, states that after the 2022 encounter, agents monitored the courier鈥檚 movements and phone calls for months through wiretaps and other investigative techniques.

Agents finally stopped Miranda-Vasquez on May 28, 2023, and filed charges after finding 19 kilograms of fentanyl and 7 kilograms of methamphetamine in his vehicle.

鈥淲alking鈥� narcotics has been a routine law enforcement tool for identifying suspects, their vehicles and stash houses, as well as tracking down higher-level drug suppliers during wiretap investigations, according to defense attorneys and federal prosecutors.

But some current and former DEA agents contend the practice is too risky when fentanyl is involved, given the potential lethality of even a small amount of the drug.

Last December, Miranda-Vasquez was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and other drug charges. No other defendants were charged in the trafficking scheme.

Last week, there was no public record of Miranda-Vasquez鈥檚 current whereabouts, much less where the unseized drug shipments went.

Miranda-Vasquez鈥檚 attorney could not be reached for comment.

In an earlier case, Miranda-Vasquez pleaded guilty in May 2020 to possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance. U.S. District Judge Judith Herrera sentenced him to three years in federal prison and ordered the initiation of removal proceedings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Whistleblower allegations

The unidentified DEA agent in the latest whistleblower case is asking the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to investigate a series of 鈥渁dverse personnel actions鈥� taken against him.

He is one of four agents on the Albuquerque division鈥檚 elite special response team, which specializes in large-scale takedowns and high-risk arrests and search warrants.

He contends his treatment by DEA supervisors is due, in part, to his participation in the refusal to obey an order not to seize large shipments of fentanyl. Details of that allegation were redacted from a copy of the complaint provided to the Journal.

The complaint also cites disclosures the agent made that failing to seize large shipments of fentanyl possibly violated DEA and internal Department of Justice policies.

As a result of his disclosures, the complaint states, his duties and responsibilities have changed significantly. For example, he has been required to document his whereabouts during spot checks on targets during work hours and has been threatened with removal from the special response team.

The complaint was filed by Empower Oversight, a national whistleblower nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Virginia. Its president, Tristan Leavitt, told the Journal last week that much of the complaint was redacted to protect the agent鈥檚 identity.

鈥淭his complaint highlights additional instances of agents being chastised for seizing fentanyl, and also demonstrates the highly retaliatory culture under Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Armijo,鈥� Leavitt said.

Armijo became the top supervisor in the Albuquerque DEA office in 2024, two years after supervising the team that tracked Miranda-Vasquez as he hauled fentanyl into Albuquerque in 2022 and 2023, the complaint states.

Working with the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office, Armijo鈥檚 group monitored the courier鈥檚 movements and believes Miranda-Vasquez 鈥渕ade a minimum of at least five large deliveries over the following months, each time bringing 50,000-100,000 fentanyl pills and 20-40 pounds of methamphetamine per trip.鈥�

The DEA in June denied that agents 鈥渨alked鈥� fentanyl and more recently declined to answer questions about Armijo.

On July 15, retired DEA agent Kevin Small, now working as a financial investigator on contract, accused Armijo of retaliating against him after he voiced support for Howell. His whistleblower complaint contends Armijo told other DEA agents not to give him further work. Small is quitting Aug. 31.

Leavitt鈥檚 nonprofit, Empower Oversight, has two former agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on its whistleblower advisory panel. Both became whistleblowers by exposing the controversial gun-walking Operation Fast and Furious beginning in 2011.

Hoping to trace weapons up the criminal chain, ATF agents permitted illegal straw buyers to purchase about 2,000 firearms and 鈥渨alk,鈥� or smuggle, them to Mexican cartels.

But the strategy proved a failure after U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in 2010 in Rio Rico, Arizona. He was fatally shot with guns at the scene that were identified as having been purchased by a suspect in Operation Fast and Furious.

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