Page 1 GAO-25-107839 Combatting Illicit Drugs
The federal government has identified the use of illegal drugs and misuse of
prescription drugs, particularly opioids, as a persistent and long-standing risk to
public health in the U.S. The Department of Justice and an executive order
created the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1973, as a single,
comprehensive federal agency to lead U.S. efforts against illicit drug trafficking,
domestically and internationally. DEA works with U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security to investigate
illicit drug activity with a connection to U.S. borders and ports of entry. To
facilitate their collaboration, DEA and ICE have entered into agreements
including: (1) an August 1994 memorandum of understanding between DEA and
U.S. Customs Service, (2) a June 2009 interagency cooperation agreement
between DEA and ICE, and (3) a January 2021 joint letter. We refer to these
documents as agreements in this report. These agreements, among other things,
outline the mechanisms to provide agents from ICE’s Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI) with authority to investigate violations of controlled
substances laws contained in Title 21 of the U.S. Code (i.e., cross-designation
under Title 21 authority).
The January 2021 agreement requires DEA and HSI to create two training
modules, including a joint training on the June 2009 agreement. The goal was to
present the information to DEA and HSI special agents with one voice to help
ensure consistency in implementing it. We were asked to examine how DEA and
HSI coordinate on counternarcotics investigations. This report addresses the
extent to which DEA is following its process to review HSI agent requests to
participate in counternarcotics investigations, and the extent to which DEA and
HSI have implemented the provisions of their agreement regarding training
requirements.
• DEA has cross-designated an average of over 4,000 HSI agents per year
with the authority to participate in counternarcotics investigations under Title
21 of the U.S. Code during fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
• DEA has not established timeliness goals for its Title 21 cross-designation
processes and does not track processing time. This prevents the agency from
ensuring it can make timely, data-driven decisions about the program.
• DEA and HSI officials have not implemented the training requirements
pursuant to their January 2021 agreement. This prevents these agencies
from ensuring their agents are properly trained and effectively collaborate on
counternarcotics investigations.
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Combatting Illicit Drugs: Improvements
Needed for Coordinating Federal
Investigations
-25-107839
to Congressional Requesters
