There are examples. I am not going to dig them up again.
This is frustrating.
It does happen. It is rare, but it is simply a numbers game. The odds of being caught are not so low as being struck by lightning or winning the lottery, either.
Here is how it usually works.
They use a dog, sometimes based on other factors, sometimes at random. Dogs are not trained to sniff out steroids, but it does not matter, because dogs will hit on packages containing no contraband all the time. There are joint task force police officers in every USPS distribution center. There is also an entire division of the postal service called postal inspectors. They have badges and id and carry guns. Postal inspectors do not like you using their postal service for carrying your dirty bathtub gear contraband.
You have to remember that these folks are not you. Their entire job is about catching as much of the contraband in the system as they can. They cannot catch most of it, even big, smelly boxes of weed. They openly admit most of this stuff gets through, but they are going to catch what they can, including your steroid shipment.
They also have a list of factors (this is publicly available info, not a secret) they simply check off, and your packages check off most of them. This is official procedure for seeking and catching contraband shipments.
Once the dog hits on your package, they either go get a warrant to open it based on the dog and the "known contraband" factors on the checklist, which they will get, because judges call that probable cause no matter how bad the dog is. OR, they allow deliver and then question the person who recieves it.
A lot of folks when confronted by the USPS and a local uniformed officer will simply admit what is in the package. They ask for permission to open it right there in front of you. If not granted or not cooperating, they seize the package and then go get a warrant.
Keep in mind that they already have all kinds of information about your habits and orders and mail delivery, including prior deliveries from the same area or the same fake return addresses and so on. All of it. The USPS saves everything.
At this point your future is in the balance.
The postal inspectors will then go to the local federal prosecutor. Most of the time, the federal prosecutor is going to frustrate them by telling them he is not interested. So do they go away? No.
Then they go to the local police, whatever joint drug task force is in your area with whom they already have relationships, and hand them the case all wrapped with a bow. In many states, this is a felony, and the guys on the drug team are usually too eager to "help" you by rescuing you from this evil dirty bathtub gear. While that post looks sarcastic, it is not. That is how many of them view this issue. They are on a crusade, and it is for your own good. You will probably even thank them later.
Anyway, there are things that can stop this process along the way, but if you talked, you screwed yourself, anyway, and most do, which is why they often do the interview instead of the controlled delivery. But they do controlled delivery sometimes, too.
No, it is not because of leaky vials. It is literally just pulling packages and using the checklist of factors and a stupid, unreliable dog who is looking to make his master happy and "hits" on cue. There is no appeal in the court system from a dog hit. Reliability of the dog does not matter. All that matters is the dog is certified. Period.
Your risk level depends upon where you live. If you live in Portland, OR, where steroid possession may not even be a crime (not sure), the locals don't care. If you live in the southeast, steroid possession is likely a felony in your state, and drug police at your local Sheriff's Office do care. They care very much.
So there is a lot to add about how they prove it is yours and so on and whether prison is likely and so on . . . if you have a clean record, prison is pretty much out of the question, but this can lead to a search warrant on your house, arrest, booked into the jail until you can appear before a judge for bond, indictment on felony charges (cannot buy guns at this point in the process), and a subsequent prosecution. If your IQ is above 70, you will realize at this point that you need a good criminal defense lawyer.
As others point out, if this is a first offense, first offender probation is a likely result. Comply with that, and it will be wiped off your record.
You may, if you did not open your mouth, be able to introduce reasonable doubt about whether this package was yours. Keep in mind, though, that the prosecutors will have all sorts of evidence you never even thought about to present to the jury to paint a picture of why these are yours. Everything from the USPS keeps everything to whatever evidence the search of your home turns up.
How does that sound, sitting handcuffed on your porch with your wife and kids while the police ransack your house?
And here is another thing - POSTERS HERE DO NOT POST, HEY, I HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH A FELONY FOR MY LAST ORDER FROM THIS SOURCE! Think about it. That is risky. It is an admission if they can link it to you.
The first thing your attorney will tell you is never to visit here and do not talk about this to anybody, ever, for any reason, except talking with the attorney.
So only a complete idiot would come back here and post.
You will not hear from those people ever again or at least for years.
So do not let the fact that you do not hear from members here anything but "Pack landed" lull you into a false sense of security. Nobody comes back here and posts about a search warrant or arrest. Rarely, we do hear about an interview here.
Even after the statute of limitation runs, folks may still be scared to post about their experience for fear of who may be monitoring.
Anyway, you are flatly wrong about domestic packages not resulting in "legal actions."
It's rare. The numbers are heavily in favor of the persons ordering not getting caught at all and not being prosecuted, but it does happen. There are real world examples, real persons. The whole "cops don't care about personal possession" line is internet myth that steroid forum members wish was true, but it is not.
