A sneek and peek probe allowed under the Patriot Act. Usually most folks don't know that their home has been searched. Under the sneek and peek provisions, the feds can enter your property with out your knowledge and look for evidence of a crime. They don't take anything, but if they find something then they go to a judge and say... we found 200 AK47's and a million rounds of ammo. Issue me an arrest warrant.
That shit can legally happen? I never knew the Patriot Act gave away so much of our privacy. What happened to probable cause or illegal search and seizure?
Reminds me of "someone" wanted to "see" what I had in the shop. The lock proved hard to pick. So they cut a 3" strip from the rubberized strip attached to the door bottom and slid a mini camera through the cut out.
I was later told that I had a "lot of tools."
Shit...I've been broken into a few times in the past few years. One time all they grabbed was my wallet of photographic micro drives. Left expensive camera gear sitting right next to my micro drive wallet.
So they have some sort of integrity. As you found out yourself.
But they are a little sloppy. They do tend to leave signs of their presence.
I can post a pic of the 3" cut out from the rubber strip. I have also posted about the microdrive wallet theft.