POROUS, OH—Confirming what agency officials described as "a sting that got away from us a little," the Drug Enforcement Administration acknowledged Thursday that it has spent the last seven years operating the most successful subscription content account in the state of Ohio from a field office above a closed buffet in Porous.
"We built it in 2019 to catch one dealer in Dayton," said Special Agent in Charge Doug Pruitt, 55, standing beside a whiteboard on which someone had written "SUBSCRIBERS: 41,212" in red marker. "He subscribed the first night."
According to internal documents, the account was approved as a 90-day undercover operation designed to lure a single mid-level distributor into sending incriminating messages. It has since been renewed 27 times. Agents confirmed the original target, a 44-year-old Dayton man identified only as Marcus, has never missed a monthly payment and has twice upgraded to the annual plan.
All of the account's creators are sworn federal agents. Special Agent Tiffani Marsh, who posts under a name the agency declined to disclose, said she was assigned to the account straight out of Quantico and has since become one of the platform's highest earners. "I'm a GS-12 special agent," Marsh said, adjusting a ring light with the same hand that holds her service weapon. "I'm in the top 0.1 percent of creators. My pension vests in four years." Marsh said she still completes her annual firearms qualification, "usually in the dress, because the lighting at the range is good."
Officials said the account does produce arrests, though rarely on purpose. Special Agent Luis Reyes of the agency's newly formed Content Division described a recent case in which a subscriber left a $40 tip along with a photograph of his kitchen. "That's eleven ounces of cocaine on the counter," Reyes said, as two agents walked the subscriber, still scrolling on his phone in handcuffs, through the office behind him. Reyes said the man has asked whether his subscription will carry over while he is in custody. It will.
The operation has also become one of the agency's largest sources of funding. Pruitt confirmed the account cleared $31 million last year, more than the Ohio field division's entire congressional appropriation, and said the money has paid for two new vehicles, a second ring light per agent, and a full-time accountant. "That's more than Congress gives us," Pruitt said. "So we don't arrest our top fans." A second whiteboard in the office, partially erased, appears to list the account's five most loyal subscribers under the heading "DO NOT ARREST."
Marcus, who visited the field office Thursday wearing a white tracksuit and a visitor's lanyard, received a signed, framed photograph of Agent Marsh, which agency staff said is a standard reward for subscribers who reach the seven-year mark. "Thank you for your continued support, Marcus," Marsh told him. He nodded and left through the front door. No charges have been filed.
At press time, a DEA spokesperson confirmed the agency has opened a second account targeting cartel leadership and said it was "already in the top 1 percent."
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