US drug enforcement head retires after sex scandal

Washington: The head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration is retiring, following a scandal involving drug agents attending orgies with cartel-hired prostitutes abroad.

Michele Leonhart, head of the anti-drug trafficking law enforcement agency, is retiring in mid-May, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement Tuesday.

Holder hailed Leonhart`s achievements as a law enforcer and her leadership of the DEA since 2007.

The DEA came under intense criticism following a Justice Department report that found agents attended orgies with prostitutes they should have known were hired by a drug cartel. The sex parties reportedly took place in Colombia.