Fans of industrial, gothic, electronic, ambient, experimental and other types of music which you won’t hear on the radio know that not all of the music they want to listen to is available for purchase in the U.S. Record labels do not import everything an artist might release, and for people in the U.S. who are fans of foreign artists, sometimes it’s necessary to purchase the music directly from a foreign record label or distributor.

But actually getting hold of the music you’ve ordered can put you in the spotlight of the Department of Homeland Security.

Jason, not his real name, ordered a CD of “harsh experimental noise” from “an independent record label” in the Netherlands, and found when it arrived in his mail Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security had opened and then resealed the padded envelope in which the CD arrived.

Envelope opened and resealed by Customs and Border Protection, now part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Jason, of Eugene, Ore., feels that his privacy has been invaded “by a stranger going through my mail,” he said, and thus requested anonymity.

In December, Grant Goodman, of Lawrence, Kan., received a letter from the Philippines which had been opened and resealed in the same manner.

A Lisle, Ill., resident said that he orders music from foreign sources frequently, and that each CD he ordered had been opened by Customs before he received it. “They can’t be shrinkwrapped, either,” he said.

Customs and Border Protection, formerly known as the U.S. Customs Service, was established in 1789, and became a part of the Department of Homeland Security under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. (PDF) DHS encompasses (PDF) 22 different agencies and was the government’s largest bureaucratic reorganization in over 50 years.

CBP is responsible for collecting duties on goods shipped into the U.S. and interdicting contraband at ports of entry, as well as maintaining border security.

According to a statement on its Web site, the “Postal Service sends all foreign mail shipments to CBP for examination.” CBP opens some packages for inspection, not only to ensure that it assesses proper duties, but also to prevent illegal drugs and other items from entering the country. For instance, on Thursday, CBP found a human head in luggage accompanying a woman returning from Haiti.

Jason said he contacted his local post office, and said he was told that people there were aware that CBP occasionally opened mail and were also aware of Goodman’s case.

A CBP spokesman refused to discuss this particular case, and refused to comment on the criteria used to select packages for inspection.