Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, the DEA has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally.
"DEA" redirects here. For other uses, see DEA (disambiguation).Drug Enforcement Administration
July 1, 1973
9,848 (2021)
Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.[2]
4,649
- Anne Milgram[3], Administrator
- George S. Papadopoulos, Principal Deputy Administrator
It was established in 1973 as part of the U.S. government's war on drugs. The DEA has an intelligence unit that is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. While the unit is part of the DEA chain-of-command, it also reports to the Director of National Intelligence. The DEA has been criticized for scheduling drugs that have medical uses, and for focusing on operations that allow it to seize money rather than those involving drugs that cause more harm.
In 2018, the DEA budget was $2.086 billion.[27] $445 million was spent on international enforcement and $1.627 billion was spent on domestic enforcement.
The following is a listing of the rank structure found within the DEA (in ascending order):
Project Cassandra[edit]
In 2008 the Special Operations part of the agency launched a multi-agency effort named Project Cassandra[82] to investigate Hezbollah for allegations of illicit drug trafficking and terrorist financing. The investigation identified an Iranian cell in the U.S. which worked in concert with a Lebanese bank called the Lebanese Canadian Bank to launder money using the purchase of used automobiles exported to Africa. Project Cassandra also identified hemispheric drug syndicates involved in cocaine trafficking in order to finance Hezbollah activities. The Department of Justice issued several sealed indictments but declined to seize, prosecute, extradite, or further investigate likely targets of these alleged foreign criminal activities operating in the United States due to White House diplomatic objectives involving the international nuclear agreement with Iran.[83] On December 22, 2017, the Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a review of prior cases in the project.[84]
The DEA are commonly featured in crime drama films and TV, as both protagonists and antagonists.