By Steve Neavling
The DEA is searching for hundreds of new agents as synthetic drugs such as fentanyl are killing Americans at an alarming rate.
“We need to hire the next generation of the best and brightest to help us combat this drug threat that’s going to be ever-changing,” Rob Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Atlanta office, said, according to WGCL/Gray News. “I can’t even imagine what the next 20 years is going to look like.”
The goal is to reach full capacity of about 5,000 agents.
The role of the DEA is changing as drugs evolve.
“I think we’re going to see an end of the plant-based drug threat and we’re going to see more of the synthetics, which is much more dangerous, it’s obviously more addictive,” he said. “Obviously we’re seeing the outcome with fentanyl, easy to make and way more profitable for the cartels and I think that’s where we’re headed in the future.”
Getting a job at the DEA is not easy. Only one of 20 applicants land a job at the agency.
“It’s the number one vital moment in the agent hiring process to pass the assessment because if you can’t pass the physical task assessment, you can’t move on through the hiring process,” Special Agent Geoff Furman, the recruiter for the DEA Atlanta Division, said. “The division covers Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
