1968 was the year when the federal government was first allowed to use wiretapping to record telephone conversations of alleged offenders believed to be involved in drug trafficking and other narco-related crimes. Although there always were mixed opinions about the technique – given the fine line between investigators’ needs and the individual’s privacy rights – wiretapping has started being used extensively in the last two decades.

According to a Forbes article, “the amount of court-issued warrants surging from 1,190 [...]