Description
Conduct criminal investigations into illegal drug manufacturing, trafficking, possession, and diversion. Develop leads, manage informants, perform undercover buys and surveillance, collect and analyze evidence, execute warrants, coordinate with partner agencies, and build cases for prosecution.
- • Check overdose victims for responsiveness, breathing, and pulse.
- • Summon EMS for overdose or injured persons and relay pertinent observations.
- • Obtain recorded statements from informants, buyers, witnesses, and suspects about drug activity.
- • Secure overdose death scenes and protect decedents pending the medical examiner.
- • Document case progress, maintain target and informant files, and submit reports for warrants and charging.
- • Collect, field-test, weigh, package, and label suspected controlled substances, paraphernalia, and currency; arrange disposition per policy.
- • Receive scene briefings from first responders while avoiding evidence contamination.
- • Photograph and diagram stash locations, drug ledgers, scales, packaging, and other trace evidence; take measurements.
- • Prepare clear investigative reports and affidavits detailing findings.
- • Query criminal history, PDMP, parcel, vehicle, and licensing databases to identify suspects and associates.
- • Control scenes during warrants or buys, separating participants and preserving witnesses.
- • Provide laboratories with source details and requested analyses for seized drugs and paraphernalia.
- • Review patrol and overdose reports to identify leads and required follow-up.
- • Corroborate intelligence through interviews, controlled buys, surveillance, and record analysis.
- • Draft, obtain, and execute narcotics-related search, arrest, and tracking warrants.
- • Conduct knock-and-talks and consensual encounters to confirm tips on drug activity.
- • Identify elements and evidence needed to prove possession, intent to distribute, conspiracy, or diversion offenses.
- • Plan and assist in buy-busts, raids, and takedowns of distributors and suppliers.
- • Organize warrant searches, assign roles, and ensure lighting and scene safety.
- • Notify command of evolving situations and request additional resources.
- • Testify in court and before grand juries on narcotics investigations.
- • Establish perimeters and secure locations during operations and crime scenes.
- • Notify the medical examiner or prosecutor’s office as required for overdoses and fatalities.
- • Search for, collect, and preserve fingerprints, DNA, and digital evidence relevant to drug crimes.
- • Set investigative scope, priorities, and timelines based on threat assessments.
- • Maintain mobile, fixed, and electronic surveillance of targets, stash houses, and couriers.
- • Coordinate with DEA, task forces, prosecutors, probation, and neighboring agencies to share intelligence.
- • Perform undercover assignments, manage confidential informants, and monitor authorized wiretaps and pen registers.
- • Analyze call detail records, financial transactions, and social media to map distribution networks and money laundering.
- • Prepare and process asset seizure and forfeiture documentation tied to narcotics proceeds.
- • Identify and remediate clandestine lab hazards by coordinating HazMat, fire, and environmental responders.
- • Conduct parcel and interdiction operations at carriers, transit hubs, and highways to intercept narcotics.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
