Senator Demands DEA Disclose Details of Epstein Drug Trafficking Probe

Senator Demands DEA Disclose Details of Epstein Drug Trafficking Probe

Background

On February 26, 2026, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole requesting information on a long-running and previously undisclosed Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into possible drug trafficking and suspicious financial transactions involving Jeffrey Epstein and 14 alleged co-conspirators.

CBS News first reported on the existence of the case on February 24, 2026, based on a heavily redacted 69-page DEA memo found in the Epstein files.

The DEA Memo

The memo, marked "sensitive but unclassified," was among more than 3 million pages of documents recently released by the Justice Department.

The memo dates from 2015. It refers to a DEA Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) probe nicknamed "Chain Reaction." According to the memo, the case was opened in 2010 in New York and was "judicial pending," indicating the investigation remained active at the time the memo was drafted five years later.

The co-conspirators, the memo stated, were being investigated for "illegitimate wire transfers which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution activities occurring in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City."

The names of all targeted individuals other than Epstein are redacted in the version released by the Justice Department. Many details about the investigation are also redacted.

Wyden's Letter

In his letter, Wyden stated:

"In addition to sex trafficking, it appears that Epstein and his associates were under investigation by the DEA for other major crimes, including illicit drug trafficking and money laundering."

Wyden wrote that the involvement of the OCDETF task force "suggests that there was ample evidence indicating that Epstein was engaged in heavy drug trafficking and prostitution as part of cross-border criminal conspiracy." He called the findings "incredibly disturbing" and said they "raise serious questions as to how this investigation by the DEA was handled."

Wyden expressed concern that "excessive redactions … go well beyond the intent of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which allows for redactions to protect the identity of victims, not members of a criminal sex trafficking organization."

He also questioned why no charges were brought against Epstein or the others for drug trafficking or financial crimes, and whether "DEA and DOJ during the first Trump Administration moved to terminate this investigation in order to protect pedophiles."

Requests and Deadline

Wyden's letter asks the DEA to turn over a full, unredacted copy of the memo by March 13 for his committee's investigation. He also asks the agency to provide additional information, including:

- Why Epstein and the 14 others were under investigation - When the case concluded - Why no federal drug trafficking or money laundering charges were ever filed against them

DEA Response

The DEA did not respond to CBS News' request for comment.

Related Reporting

The Free Press published related coverage: WATCH: The Epstein Tapes, Part II: The Eye of the Law.

---

Source

Reported by Daniel Ruetenik for CBS News. Read original article.