(a) Any officer or employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration or any State, tribal, or local law enforcement officer designated by the Attorney General may—

(1) carry firearms;

(2) execute and serve search warrants, arrest warrants, administrative inspection warrants, subpenas, and summonses issued under the authority of the United States;

(3) make arrests without warrant (A) for any offense against the United States committed in his presence, or (B) for any felony, cognizable under the laws of the United States, if he has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a felony;

(4) make seizures of property pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter; and

(5) perform such other law enforcement duties as the Attorney General may designate.


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Terms Used In 21 USC 878

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • drug: has the meaning given that term by section 321(g)(1) of this title. See 21 USC 802
  • felony: means any Federal or State offense classified by applicable Federal or State law as a felony. See 21 USC 802
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • State: means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 21 USC 802
  • United States: when used in a geographic sense, means all places and waters, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See 21 USC 802

(b) State and local law enforcement officers performing functions under this section shall not be deemed Federal employees and shall not be subject to provisions of law relating to Federal employees, except that such officers shall be subject to section 3374(c) of title 5.