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How long do federal drug investigations take?
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience defending clients in federal cases. You might recognize our work from the Netflix series about Anna Delvey – Todd represented her in that high-profile fraud case that captivated the country. We’ve also handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct case and represented clients in matters involving allegations like the Alec Baldwin stalking case. These aren’t just cases – they’re examples of how we approach every client’s situation, no matter how challenging it looks.
Federal drug investigations don’t follow a neat schedule. Some wrap up in six months, others take two years or longer. The government doesn’t rush when building a drug trafficking case – they wait until they have overwhelming evidence before they arrest anyone. That waiting period is what this article explains, because if you’re reading this, you might already be under investigation without knowing it. Understanding how long these investigations take helps you grasp what you’re dealing with and why hiring experienced defense counsel early matters so much.
The investigation timeline depends entirely on what federal agents are trying to prove. A straightforward street-level drug buy might take three to six months from the first controlled purchase to indictment. But complex conspiracy cases involving multiple defendants, wiretaps, and interstate trafficking – those investigations stretch 18 months to three years before anyone gets arrested. According to federal wiretap statistics for 2024, the longest drug investigation using wiretaps ran 212 days after being extended seven times, and the average wiretap in drug cases operated for 47 days. That’s just the surveillance period – not the entire investigation.
Federal prosecutors build cases slowly, methodically. They’re not trying to catch you with drugs once – they want patterns, multiple transactions, recorded phone calls, text messages, financial records showing drug proceeds. The DEA or FBI might watch you for months, letting smaller crimes happen so they can document a larger conspiracy. This frustrates people who think law enforcement should act immediately, but from the government’s perspective, patience creates stronger cases that result in longer sentences and better conviction rates.
Wiretaps extend investigation timelines significantly. Getting court approval for a wiretap requires showing that normal investigative methods won’t work – that’s a high bar. Once approved, federal judges authorized 1,290 wiretaps in 2024, with 49% targeting drug offenses. These wiretaps don’t run indefinitely – judges authorize them for 30 days at a time, and prosecutors must return to court for extensions. But each extension adds another month to the investigation. Some cases involve multiple wiretaps on different phones, different people in the same organization. That’s how a six-month investigation becomes an 18-month investigation.
The grand jury phase adds more time after the investigation wraps. Federal prosecutors present evidence to grand juries, which meet periodically – not every day. Scheduling witnesses, organizing evidence, preparing presentations – this process takes weeks or months depending on case complexity. Grand juries themselves serve 18-month terms and can be extended to 24 months for complex cases. During this period, you might have no idea an indictment is coming. The statute of limitations for most federal drug offenses is five years, giving prosecutors plenty of runway to build their case without rushing.
Multi-defendant conspiracies take the longest to investigate. When federal agents are targeting an entire drug trafficking organization – not just one person – they need to identify every participant, document each person’s role, prove the conspiracy’s scope. They’ll use confidential informants, undercover agents, surveillance teams watching multiple locations simultaneously. A case that started with one suspect in 2023 might not result in arrests until 2025 because prosecutors kept expanding their investigation as they identified more co-conspirators. The DEA’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment reflects how federal enforcement priorities shift, which affects how resources get allocated to different investigations.
Financial investigations stretch timelines even further. Drug cases involving money laundering, structured bank transactions, or cryptocurrency require forensic accountants reviewing years of financial records. Subpoenaing bank records, tracing funds through multiple accounts, linking money to drug proceeds – each step requires court approval and takes time. Money laundering charges carry heavy sentences, so prosecutors invest months gathering financial evidence to support those charges alongside the underlying drug trafficking offenses.
You won’t know you’re under investigation until agents want you to know. That’s the terrifying part – the investigation happens in secret. Federal law enforcement doesn’t send courtesy letters warning you they’re watching. The first indication usually comes when agents execute search warrants at your home and workplace simultaneously, or when you get a target letter from a prosecutor inviting you to cooperate. By that point, the investigation has been running for months or years, and they already have enough evidence to indict you.
Sometimes investigations pause. Budget constraints, agent reassignments, higher-priority cases – federal agencies don’t have unlimited resources. An investigation that started aggressively might go dormant for six months while the case agent handles other matters, then restart when resources free up. The five-year statute of limitations is still running, but you have no idea whether the investigation is active or stalled. This uncertainty is why people suspected of federal drug involvement need counsel immediately, not after the arrest.
The government cooperates across agencies, which complicates timelines. A case might start with local police, get referred to the DEA, involve FBI resources for wiretaps, and include IRS Criminal Investigation for the money laundering component. Coordinating between agencies – sharing information, deciding who leads the prosecution, combining evidence from different sources – adds months to the process. Task forces like the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) handle major drug cases, and these multi-agency groups move deliberately, not quickly.
At Spodek Law Group – we’ve defended clients in federal drug cases at every stage. Some reached out during the investigation after receiving a grand jury subpoena. Others contacted us after arrest when they realized how much evidence the government had compiled. The earlier you involve experienced counsel, the more options you have. Once you’re indicted, your negotiating position weakens dramatically because prosecutors have already invested years building the case and they’re not inclined to dismiss it.
Federal investigators are patient – that’s what makes them dangerous. They’ll wait years if necessary to build an airtight case. The average person assumes no arrest means no case, but federal prosecutors think in terms of years, not weeks. They want convictions, long sentences, and asset forfeitures. Rushing investigations produces mistakes that defense attorneys exploit, so they take their time. In 2024, 5,463 people were arrested as a result of wiretap investigations, and 717 were convicted in cases involving wiretaps – up 57% from the previous year. Those numbers reflect investigations that took months or years to complete.
If you think you’re under investigation, act now. Don’t wait for the indictment – by then, it’s too late to influence whether charges get filed. Our attorneys include former federal prosecutors who understand how these investigations develop, what evidence prosecutors prioritize, and when intervention by defense counsel makes a difference. We’re available 24/7 because federal cases don’t operate on business hours. Agents execute search warrants at dawn, arrests happen on weekends, and grand jury subpoenas arrive without warning. Having counsel ready to respond immediately changes outcomes.
Federal drug investigations take as long as the government needs to build the case they want – not the case they have today. Six months, two years, longer – it depends on the alleged conspiracy’s complexity, the number of defendants, and the resources federal agencies dedicate to your case. The only certainty is that once the investigation starts, it doesn’t stop until they indict you or close the file. Most of the time, they indict.