By Julia Ainsley -
NBC News
The chief medical officer of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pressured his staff to order pallets of fentanyl that he intended to take with him to the UN General Assembly in New York last September, according to a whistleblower report. sent this Friday to Congress.
According to the complainants, Dr. Alexander Eastman's staff questioned him why he wanted to order such palettes.
He responded that he had a duty to ensure that any injured CBP agent was treated, claiming they were
necessary for pain management
should an emergency occur.
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“Eastman spent many hours of his time and that of the staff of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer directing OCMO employees to urgently assist him in obtaining the pallets of fentanyl, a Schedule II narcotic, to take with him on the Air Operations helicopter. and Maritime Services in which he would travel to New York City,” the whistleblowers said in the report.
"Dr. Eastman argued that it was necessary to have the fentanyl lollipops in his possession in case a CBP agent was injured, or the CBP Air and Marine Operations team encountered a patient in need," they added. .
Customs and Border Protection is the lead agency in charge of detecting and stopping the illegal entry of fentanyl at United States international borders.
Initially, Eastman staff responded to his request by explaining that the drug Narcan, which can save the lives of those who overdose on fentanyl, has been required for CBP operations, but fentanyl has not.
The complainants claimed that staff asked Eastman how he would store those pallets and what he would do with any unused fentanyl at the end of the operation, according to the report.
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Eastman responded by writing its own guidelines for handling Schedule II narcotics, omitting any mention of how the narcotics would be stored and disposed of, the complainants alleged.
In the end, Eastman did not get the pallets because
a supplier could not be found in time
, before attending the United Nations General Assembly.
It was unusual for CBP's chief medical officer to attend the assembly, which brings together diplomats and heads of state to discuss international issues, but Eastman argued to his staff that his presence was necessary because CBP's Air and Marine Operations division was helping the Secret Service with security.
The whistleblowers, represented by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, also alleged that Eastman was being investigated by CBP's Office of Personnel Accountability for
inappropriately ordering and procuring narcotics for a friend
who is an Air and Marine Operations pilot. , who also worked for the division during the General Assembly in New York, according to the report.
Eastman was promoted to acting chief medical officer in June, when the agency made an abrupt change in leadership following the death of an 8-year-old migrant girl in CBP custody after medical personnel allegedly ignored signs and pleas for help from the mother of the minor.
According to his LinkedIn page, Eastman remains in his position.