Random Drug Enforcement Administration searches of passengers at airports and other transportation facilities will stop for now after the Department of Justice raised concerns. The stoppage follows a Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General report that claimed DEA personnel could be violating constitutional rights when conducting searches.
The report found agents have not been trained on how to conduct the searches as the agency suspended its own training program in 2023.
The report also noted flaws in how DEA agents utilized confidential sources to identify passengers. In one instance, a traveler missed a flight as they were detained after refusing to submit to a consensual search of their carry-on bag. The DEA said that a drug-detection dog alerted on the bag, but no contraband was actually found in the bag.
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After the passenger posted video of the incident, the inspector general learned that information for the passenger came from an employee of a commercial airline who provided details on travelers who had purchased tickets within 48 hours of travel. The inspector general said that the DEA had been paying the employee a percentage of forfeited cash seized by authorities. The inspector general said that the employee received thousands of dollars from the DEA over several years for this information.
"The OIG concluded that, by proceeding with such interdiction activities in the absence of critical controls, such as adequate policies, guidance, training, and data collection, the DEA is creating substantial risks that DEA Special Agents and Task Force Officers will conduct these activities improperly; impose unwarranted burdens on, and violate the legal rights of, innocent travelers; imperil the Department’s asset forfeiture and seizure activities; and waste law enforcement resources on ineffective interdiction actions," the report read.
The DEA has concurred with most of the report’s recommendations but declined to comment.
