DEA Agents Are Losing Their Own Weapons And Have Trouble Tracking Them, Report Says

The DEA was audited by the DOJ inspector general in a report released Thursday, detailing numerous instances of mishandling weapons and ammunition.
DEA Agents lost 26 of their own firearms from 2014 to 2018, and their means of tracking them down is flawed.
DEA facilities also routinely mishandled ammunition and non-lethal devices.

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents are reportedly losing their own weapons, and their system for tracking them down is obsolete, a Department of Justice (DOJ) audit of 16 locations released Thursday reveals.

The DEA routinely combats illegal drugs and firearms, but a new gun problem isn’t on the street, it comes from within their own ranks. DEA agents have lost 26 issued weapons between 2014 and 2018, and their means of tracking them down is riddled with “weakness” and “risk,” leaving room for things to go missing, the report details.

The DEA employs over 4,300 agents throughout 222 offices in the U.S. and dozens abroad. They oversee numerous firearms including fully-automatic machine guns and “projectile-launch weapons.”

The 26 firearms, both carbines and handguns, were stolen or lost in 24 different instances, and only 17 of the 24 agents who parted ways with their government-issued weapon were actually penalized for the loss. DEA penalties varied from 5-day suspensions all the way up to 35-day forced leaves.

One agent lost his handgun while hunting, another left their weapon in a restaurant and a third left one in a hotel. Only 12 of the 26 lost guns have been recovered, meaning 14 are still unaccounted for

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