DEA Blocked from Conducting Random Searches at Airports

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By A.J. Herrington Published December 6th, 2024

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has been barred from conducting random searches at airports and other transportation facilities after an investigation determined that officers failed to follow the agency’s policies. The investigation by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General found that DEA personnel failed to document searches of travelers and that officers were not properly trained to conduct random inspections.

“The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found, based on its recent evaluation work and a separate, ongoing investigative matter, that, during the DEA’s transportation interdiction activities, the DEA was not complying with its own policy on consensual encounters conducted at mass transportation facilities,” the inspector’s office wrote in a statement last month. “This resulted in DEA and DEA Task Force Group personnel creating potentially significant operational and legal risks.”

The investigation found that proper documentation had not been filed when DEA Task Force Groups conducted random searches of travelers at airports and other transportation facilities. During these so-called consensual encounters, officers approach individuals at mass transportation facilities and “ask for consent to speak with the individual; and, if the Special Agents or Task Force Officers think it warranted, ask for consent to search the individual’s belongings,” the OIG noted.

The investigation also revealed that officers had not been trained on how to conduct such encounters properly since 2023, when the DEA suspended its own training program. The OIG noted that the concerns identified in the investigation had been previously cited in a 2015 OIG report and the DEA had responded it would correct them.

“The DEA’s failure to collect data for each consensual encounter, as required by its own policy, and its continued inability to provide us with any assessment of the success of these interdiction efforts once again raise questions about whether these transportation interdiction activities are an effective use of law enforcement resources — and leaves the DEA once again unable to provide adequate answers to those questions,” Horowitz wrote, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Traveler’s Video Spurs Investigation

In an incident from July reported by the OIG, a traveler at the Cincinnati airport refused a DEA Task Force officer’s request to search their bag in an encounter that was posted online. After saying that consent was not required for the search, the officer took the traveler’s bag, adding that a DEA dog had “alerted to the bag.” The traveler eventually agreed to the search, but nothing was found, and the traveler missed their flight.

The investigation revealed that DEA officers failed to complete any required paperwork about the encounter except for the consent form signed by the passenger until after an edited video of the encounter was shared online by the traveler. The OIG’s office also noted that the traveler had been chosen for a search because an airline employee was providing tips to the DEA Task Force Group about passengers who purchased tickets for flights departing within 48 hours. It was later learned that the airline employee was receiving a portion of seized cash in return for the tips.

“The OIG learned that the DEA had been paying this employee a percentage of forfeited cash seized by the DEA office from passengers at the local airport when the seizure resulted from information the employee had provided to the DEA. The employee had received tens of thousands of dollars from the DEA over the past several years,” the OIG wrote.

In a November 12 management advisory memo to the attorney general’s office and the DEA administrator, Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz directed the DEA to suspend “all consensual encounters at mass transportation facilities unless they are either connected to an ongoing, predicated investigation involving one or more identified targets or criminal networks or approved by the DEA Administrator based on exigent circumstances.”

The DOJ OIG made five recommendations to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and four recommendations to the DEA to address the concerns identified in the advisory memo. Both offices have reportedly agreed to adopt all of the recommendations.

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The information in this article and any included images or charts are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations, or your health, you should always consult with an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.

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