In the partnership, the federal government pays AT&T to place its employees in drug-fighting units around the country. The employees sit alongside DEA agents and local detectives and supply them with phone data to help track down drug traffickers who switch phones to avoid detection.
The secret program was revealed during a public records request filed with a West Coast law enforcement agency by Drew Hendricks, a Port Hadlock, Wash., peace activist. A PowerPoint presentation outlining the program listed among its success stories two 2012 California cases investigated by the Montclair Police Department and Redondo Beach Police Department .