Armed Men Pose as DEA Agents to Try Get Inside Texas Home, Suspects Still at Large

Seal of the Drug Enforcement Administration. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Pearland police are searching for two men who allegedly dressed up as Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents to try to enter a home in the area on Tuesday.

The pair, who are believed to have been armed with handguns, approached the Texas home at around 7:14 p.m. local time on May 28 dressed in blue jeans and black t-shirts with “D.E.A” written on the front and “police lettering” on the back.

The Pearland Police Department also said the suspects’ faces were concealed with face masks.

“Both men appeared to be armed with handguns, and were wearing balaclavas to hide their faces,” the Pearland Police Department shared in a Facebook post.

“One suspect appeared to be a black male, and the second appeared to be white or Hispanic male.”

They allegedly announced “DEA” as they tried to get into the residence in the 11500 block of Ivory Creek Drive, and claimed to have a search warrant for the home.

Footage of the incident shows one of the men pounding on the homeowner’s door before briefly stepping back to flip through what appears to be a white paper folder.

The second individual remains motionless and stands slightly behind the other.

However, when the homeowner said she was calling the police, the armed men fled the scene, possibly in a Chevrolet SUV, a Suburban, or Tahoe with paper plates, police said.

Footage of the incident was captured by the homeowner’s home surveillance system.

The department added that police searched the area, but could not locate the suspects or their vehicle.

Authorities have warned residents to keep on the lookout for the men, and urged anyone with knowledge of the suspects to get in touch with the Pearland Police Department.

DEA Impersonation

The incident is not the first time individuals have posed as a federal agents, which is violation of federal law, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Diversion Control Division (USDOJ).

In March, a man from San Jose, California, was charged with impersonating a DEA agent after he allegedly pulled over drivers, including a federal agent who was off-duty at the time, reported the Washington Times.

The 49-year-old named Alex Taylor was arrested after making unauthorized traffic stops in a vehicle with police lights, posing as a DEA agent.

Taylor was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a federal officer, unlawful possession of official badges, identification cards “or other insignia,” and the use and possession of a counterfeit seal of a United States federal agency, the DEA said, the Times reported.

The USDOJ also warned the public in a press release that individuals had been posing as DEA Special Agents, DEA Investigators, or other law enforcement personnel as part of an international extortion scheme.

Posing as DEA agents or law enforcement officials from other agencies, the individuals phone victims—who in the majority of cases purchased drugs online or by telephone in the past—and tell them doing so is illegal.

They then tell the victims to pay a “fine” to prevent enforcement action from being taken against them.

These types of scam calls have gone back as far as 2008, and often target the elderly, officials said, according to Dallas News.

The USDOJ warned that DEA agents never demands payment from the public over the phone.

Terri Wyatt, a spokeswoman for the Dallas division of the DEA, told Dallas News in 2012, “No legitimate DEA agent is going to make a call and threaten anyone like that.”