The DEA is ridiculed after letting a drug dealer escape with a batch of drugs that could kill millions of people

The DEA and Colorado state prosecutors held a press conference last July to announce the seizure of 114 pounds (52 kilograms) of pure fentanyl. That amount was enough to kill more than 25 million people, they said. However, federal agents have lost track of the trafficker and he is now considered a fugitive.

The suspect, David Maldonado, 27, was stopped by police June 18 near Denver as he was transporting 48 packages of fentanyl powder concealed in his vehicle, according to the arrest warrant, obtained by The Denver Gazette. The man agreed to speak with a DEA agent. In addition to telling them that the drugs were headed for South Bend, Indiana, he revealed that he had picked up the fentanyl in California and that he had made a drug delivery at least once before.

Federal agents agreed with Maldonado that he would complete a controlled delivery so the DEA could identify higher-ranking traffickers in the criminal network. The next day, Maldonado resumed his drive monitored with a tracking device attached to his car. But at some point in his journey, it’s unclear where, he managed to sneak past surveillance and remove the tracker from his vehicle, according to the affidavit.

Maldonado is wanted on two felony charges: unlawful distribution of more than 225 grams of a controlled substance and introduction of said substance into the state of Colorado.“This is a fiasco for the DEA”

The case represents an embarrassing episode for the DEA at a time when drug cartels are flooding the United States with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin, and the overdose rate is skyrocketing.

A spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol, which made the initial discovery of the fentanyl, gave a blunt account of the botched operation. «The DEA was working with us and they struck a deal with the driver», said Chief of Troop Gary Cutler. «He escaped from them after they worked on the case, and that was their debacle», he added.

Maria Haberfeld, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former DEA consultant, believes agents should have known they needed extra surveillance on Maldonado, who they didn’t retain with them an adequate amount of time so as to investigate him. «This is a fiasco for the DEA», she commented.

Frank Figliuzzi, a former deputy director of the FBI, told NBC that the DEA is most likely conducting an internal investigation. “We have a record amount of fentanyl involved here, in fact enough fentanyl to kill everyone in the state of Colorado”, he summarized. “The individual who was delivering that amount of fentanyl is now gone. And it seems that, as far as we know, there are no other wrongdoers in custody, so it’s a failure on a grand scale», he lamented.

However, a DEA official confirmed the seizure of 52 kilos of fentanyl. «Those drugs have remained in the possession of law enforcement ever since», he said. «The DEA is relentlessly pursuing the individuals who were involved in the trafficking of the seized fentanyl and will continue to do so».

Overdose deaths in the US topped 100,000 for the first time last year, driven largely by fentanyl. Of the 107,622 fatal overdoses recorded in 2021, 70% were related to this opioid.