DOJ Watchdog Cites Concerns Over Storage, Destruction of Employee-Issued Firearms at FBI, DEA

FBI and law enforcement officers meet before entering a house, in which the FBI says it is investigating "potentially hazardous chemicals" in Logan, Utah, on Oct. 3, 2018. George Frey/Reuters

The Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general identified concerns with the handling of employee-issued firearms by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) after parts of a firearm, which was to be destroyed in 2019, were used to commit a crime by a private citizen four years later.

In a recent report, the Office of Inspector General noted how firearm parts were stored in open bins that were accessible to thousands of DEA and FBI employees, as well as contractors.

“The OIG identified these concerns in connection with an investigation of a recovered privately made firearm (PMF), also known as a ‘Ghost Gun,’ that contained an unserialized frame attached to a slide and barrel of a DEA employee-issued firearm,” Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote in a memo to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.

According to Horowitz, DEA records showed “the slide and barrel were submitted for destruction by the DEA in 2019, yet the parts were recovered during an arrest of a private citizen by local law enforcement in 2023.”

While the DEA and FBI both told Horowitz they no longer store firearm parts awaiting destruction in open bins, neither agency currently has policies to address the issue and have a documentation process in place to track the firearms and parts.

“Specifically, DEA does not have any official policies regarding the storage, documentation, and safe handling of employee issued firearms pending destruction, and FBI’s policies have significant gaps with respect to the destruction of employee issued firearms,” Horowitz wrote.

During the OIG’s investigation, it also found 100 firearms intended for destruction in 2019 were unaccounted for and while the DEA concluded those firearms were destroyed, it was based on an unofficial spreadsheet created by an employee.  There were no official documents to determine the accuracy of the destruction of those firearms.

The OIG indicated the lack of policies related to employee-issued firearms destruction “create significant risks that firearms or their parts could be lost or stolen and used in subsequent crimes without accountability.”

The watchdog made four recommendations—two each to the FBI and the DEA—and both agencies concurred with them.

“We agree that having both a robust documented policy covering the destruction of employee-issued firearms and documentation of our existing training process for relevant FBI employees on the topic, would address concerns identified in the memorandum,” Alfred Watson, deputy assistant director of training for the FBI, wrote to Horowitz.

Watson indicated prior to the inspector general report, the FBI had taken steps to move firearms awaiting destruction to a more “secured” facility. He also indicated an updated training policy will cover the secure storage of firearms and parts prior to destruction and documentation to track the items.

The DEA Chief of Compliance Edward Kovacs wrote to Horowitz that it is in the process of finalizing policy and standard operating procedures that address the concerns regarding storage, documentation and the destruction of firearms that are issued to employees. The DEA also will provide training to employees related to the firearms.

The Epoch Times reached out to the FBI and DEA for comment. The FBI referred The Epoch Times to its response in the report.