Supervisory Special Agent, Los Angeles
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Bob Thomas has been with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since 2009, and assigned to the Los Angeles Field Division (LAFD) since 2010. During his career, he has worked various assignments, including as a member of the Southwest Border Initiative, FBI and Los Angeles Sheriff’s task force groups, and Tactical Diversion.
Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Thomas has been involved with the LAFD OD Justice Task Force since its inception in 2018. In March 2021, SSA Thomas was designated the Operation OD Justice Coordinator, responsible for oversight of the drug-caused death cases investigated by the DEA in the seven southern California counties which make up the greater Los Angeles area. In this capacity, SSA Thomas has evaluated over 500 drug-caused deaths and been involved with over two hundred investigations into distributions resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Since June 2022, SSA Thomas has supervised Los Angeles Field Division’s HIDTA Tactical Diversion Squad and the OD Justice Task Force.
Based on his work with drug-caused death investigations, SSA Thomas is the recipient of the 2020 California Narcotics Officers’ Association Region III Al Steward Award for Narcotic Officer of the Year, a 2022 Finalist for the Association of Federal Narcotics Agents Special Agent of the Year Award, and recipient of the Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County 2023 Centurion Award for Excellence in Investigations – Multi Agency. He has also been recognized with awards from the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, in both 2022 and 2023.
Prior to joining the DEA, SSA Thomas served in the U.S. Army as a Signals Intelligence Analyst and Mandarin Chinese linguist from 2000 to 2005 and as a patrol officer for the City of Wilmington, Delaware from 2006 to 2009.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Initiatives and Updates
Monday, October 21, 2024
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET