So the consensus here was pretty right-on. You are in a small town. And you were ratted out ... probably by the ticked-off Mexican pharmacist you had a tiff with.

To set the record straight ...

1. If three members of the local drug task force showed up, what makes you think one of them was DEA? Task forces are made up of state, county, and local narcs, as well as Border Patrol, Customs, INS, and Postal Inspectors ... and DEA. Three does not allow for full representation. I've seen a team of 20 converge for a house search and they all had different badges.

2. Even if one of them was DEA, they're not Mexican pharmacists. So why should they recognize Zantac? They're trained to identify controlled substances. Maybe FDA would recognize Mexican Zantac ...

3. Your relative/friend should learn to never consent to searches without warrants. Refusing a request for a voluntary search is is not evidence of guilt. If she was home and she accepted a delivery of a controlled substance addressed to you and she agreed to them opening it ... then she (and you) could both be arrested. If they had probable cause for the search they would have gotten a warrant and opened it on their own. They didn't have probable cause because that anonymous tip did not come from a "reliable informant." Thankfully, even in a town of 20,000, an anonymous tip from an upset mexican pharmacist with a vendetta is not Probable Cause to open your mail. Thank Goodness for that! If they pulled a stunt like that in most big cities they'd lose the case fer shure.

When will people learn to refuse warrantless searches?

Trampy