Steven L. Hofer
Steven L. Hofer was appointed Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Field Division in June 2026 and oversees DEA enforcement, intelligence, diversion and administrative operations throughout Kansas, Missouri and Southern Illinois. SAC Hofer directs the division's efforts to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations while strengthening partnerships with federal, state, local, tribal and international law enforcement agencies.
SAC Hofer began his career with the DEA in 2004 after serving more than 10 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. During his military service, he commanded a company in Ramadi, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his leadership and service.
Throughout his DEA career, SAC Hofer has served in a variety of investigative and executive leadership positions. He began his DEA service in the St. Louis Field Division Office with multiple assignments, to include the Violent Traffickers Task Force. In 2016, he was promoted to Group Supervisor in Springfield, Missouri, where he led a multi-agency enforcement group focused on dismantling violent drug trafficking organizations and gangs operating throughout southwest Missouri.
In 2020, SAC Hofer was selected for an executive assignment at DEA Headquarters, where he supported nationwide enforcement initiatives targeting pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers and distributors. In 2022, he was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Baton Rouge District Office, overseeing enforcement operations throughout Louisiana. He was appointed Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division in 2024, where he led more than 600 employees across Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi while advancing complex criminal investigations, strengthening partnerships, and enhancing public safety throughout the region.
As SAC of the St. Louis Division, he is committed to advancing DEA's mission by targeting the most significant drug trafficking organizations, combating the fentanyl crisis, reducing drug-related violence and strengthening the partnerships that are essential to protecting the communities the division serves. His leadership supports DEA Administrator Terry Cole's North Star priorities by emphasizing operational excellence, collaboration, accountability and investment in the agency's greatest asset, its people.
SAC Hofer earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing, with a minor in military science, from Missouri Western State University and a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
SAC Hofer believes that leadership is rooted in service to the workforce, to law enforcement partners and to the communities DEA is entrusted to protect. He is committed to fostering a culture built on integrity, accountability, teamwork and innovation, recognizing that the division's greatest strength is its people and the partnerships they build every day in pursuit of DEA's mission.