DEA’s Civilian Airport Search and Seizure Program Suspended after IG Advisory
The Department of Justice (DOJ) suspended a controversial Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) search and seizure program that targeted unsuspecting airline passengers and subjected them to potentially unlawful seizures of cash from their luggage.
On November 12, 2024, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco directed the DEA to halt most “consensual encounter” searches at airports, unless the searches are part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco made the move after a seeing a draft of a management advisory from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, that outlined various abuses of the program over the past decade.
The program used civil asset forfeiture to allow DEA agents to seize cash if the passenger was suspected of carrying illicit funds tied to the drug trade. The onus was then put on the passenger to prove it was not drug money, to get the funds back.
“Substantial Risks”
In the advisory, the IG noted that the program created “substantial risks” that the searches would be conducted “improperly.” The IG also noted the program at times could pose “unwarranted burdens on, and violate the legal rights of, innocent travelers.”
It also cited the program for wasting “law enforcement resources on ineffective interdiction actions” and for failing to have a proper training program in place for agents.
In addition, most airport seizures did not result in criminal prosecutions. DEA even paid one airline employee tens of thousands of dollars in proceeds from cash seized as a result of tips.
And while the searches are supposed to be voluntary, the advisory criticized DEA for essentially forcing passengers to comply, or chance missing their flight.
Investigation Brings Program into Focus
The issue was thrust into the public eye by a series of investigative reports from Atlanta News First which “uncovered how drug agents have been seizing anything over $5,000 if airline passengers can’t prove — on the spot — that their own money didn’t come from drug trafficking.”
A man who saw that report posted a video of him getting shaken down by agents at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport that went viral.
The DOJ OIG made five recommendations to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and four recommendations to the DEA to address the concerns we identified. The Office of the Deputy Attorney General and the DEA agreed with all recommendations.