Members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are highly active in Kansas City, and a District Office is located here. In addition, DEA agents in this area are part of the Kansas City/Overland Park DEA Task Force that specializes in disrupting methamphetamine labs and traffickers.
What it Takes to Become a DEA Agent in Kansas City
One way to become a DEA agent is to have a law enforcement officer background that involved drug investigations.
Another is to obtain an LL.B., J.D., or Master’s degree.
A Bachelor’s degree with a 2.95 GPA is another option. The GPA requirement is waived for those with three years of experience in engineering, accounting, information technology, piloting ships or airplanes, being fluent in one of a number of languages, or having served in the military.
Kansas City residents who want to learn how to become a DEA agent in this city should contact the St. Louis Division to find out if there are jobs available in Kansas City.
Recruits undergo their formal training in Quantico, Virginia. Formal coursework and training is undertaken at the DEA Academy that includes investigative protocol, firearms proficiently and pursuit driving
Addressing the Drug Problem in Kansas City
The use of Kansas City as a primary drug market led the federal government to include Johnson and Wyandotte Counties as part of the Midwest HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) created in 1998.
Methamphetamine – Meth is considered the most severe drug problem in Kansas City. Mexican traffickers bring the ice form of meth into this city, where it is both distributed to the surrounding states and consumed locally. In addition, the number of meth labs has been increasing in the Kansas City area.
Cocaine – Mexican drug cartels bring large quantities of cocaine into Kansas City for further distribution and local consumption. American dealers convert some of this powdered cocaine to crack for local distribution. The sale and use of this drug helps to create a climate of violence in inner-city neighborhoods.
Marijuana – Large quantities of pot are brought into Kansas City from the West coast and the Southwest. One trafficking group alone is thought to have brought more than a ton of high-quality pot into Kansas City for further distribution. Most of the people that are treated for drug abuse in Kansas are abusing pot.
Drug Interdictions by DEA Agents in Kansas City
The location of Kansas City, Kansas makes it a prime site for drug traffickers to import illicit drugs into the city and ship them to the East and West coasts, and the Midwest. Kansas City is centrally located in the U.S. and is at the intersection of Interstates 35, 29, and 70.
Kansas City is also a major consumer market for drugs. This contributes to a high level of violence in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The DEA has been highly active in Kansas and has made some busts of spectacular size over the years.
- The DEA was one of many agencies involved in a case in which several residents of Kansas City were part of a July 2012 101-count indictment brought against a major trafficking organization that operated in Douglas and Johnson Counties for seven years. They used commercial carriers to transport cocaine and high-grade marijuana from California to Kansas.
- An 18 month investigation by the DEA, IRS, the U.S. Post Office, and the Kansas City Police department led to the dismantling of a large marijuana trafficking ring in 2009. The people involved were thought to have netted over $22 million by shipping about 2,300 pounds of marijuana a week in crates from Phoenix to Kansas City for nine years.