Getting illegal drugs in mail a crime — if recipient knows it

[IceWizard]

Getting Illegal Drugs in Mail a Crime —
If Recipient Knows It


Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune reporter


Oct 12, 2012




Receiving illegal drugs through the mail is clearly a crime — but only if there is
proof it was done knowingly and intentionally, legal experts say.

First-class letters and parcels are protected against search and seizure under the
Fourth Amendment, and, as such, cannot be opened without a search warrant,
said Julie Kenney, regional spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
If there is probable cause to believe the contents of a letter or package violate
federal law, postal inspectors can get a search warrant to open it or can ask the
sender or recipient for consent to check it, Kenney said. The mail is also checked
by drug-sniffing dogs or X-ray machines.

The question of whether accepting a package of illegal substances through the
mail can open someone up to a police search or even criminal charges — even if
the recipient claims not to know the contents — is among the legal issues
surrounding a recent raid on a Beach Park home.

The homeowner, Paul Brown, said the raid, apparently done in search of evidence
of pot-dealing, was unjustified.

Police say they got the right house, but that the target wasn't home, and they
made no arrests. The search warrant was dependent on someone at the house
first accepting a package delivery.

Brown said the package was addressed to someone named "Oscar,"
whom he doesn't know.

Colin Miller, an associate law professor at the University of South Carolina who
edited the latest edition of Illinois Criminal Procedure, said most courts, including
those in Illinois, uphold the use of an "anticipatory" warrant, whose execution is
triggered by an anticipated action that suggests criminal activity, such as the
acceptance of a package containing marijuana.

Some appeals courts don't find sufficient probable cause for such a warrant based
solely on the delivery of contraband, Miller said, and might require additional
evidence. For a conviction, the courts require other evidence, such as statements
from a witness, payments, email or other correspondence showing the recipient
anticipated the arrival of the illegal drugs.

"In cases where people come into possession of contraband but don't know it,
the courts have consistently found that not a crime," Miller said, citing a well-established
legal principle known as mens rea, meaning "guilty mind" or criminal intent.
"Just receiving a package without knowing its contents isn't sufficient to be
convicted of a crime."

In the case of the Beach Park raid, Miller said that without seeing an investigator's
sworn statement describing leads in the case, it's difficult to say whether there was
sufficient evidence.

Kenney, the postal inspection service spokeswoman, declined to discuss the
Beach Park investigation specifically beyond confirming an agency inspector's
involvement. However, she said delivery of drugs through the mail seems to be
a growing trend in recent years.

In fiscal year 2011, the most recent reported, the Postal Inspection Service
reported 1,327 arrests and 1,102 convictions in drug cases nationwide.
Inspectors seized 31,000 pounds of illegal narcotics and more than $14.6 million
in drug trafficking proceeds.