Does a wiretap need to be wiretapped?

However, the fact that the law enforcement officials enjoyed a certain degree of success employing normal investigative techniques does not indicate that a wiretap was unnecessary. United States v. Kail, 612 F.2d 443, 447 (9th Cir.1979). The agents bore the burden of demonstrating that they pursued their investigation diligently through normal methods but, nevertheless, that a wiretap was necessary to further their inquiry. They did not have to show that normal methods yielded absolutely no information regarding the suspected drug traffickers.

In United States v. Torres, 908 F.2d 1417 (9th Cir.1990), for example, law enforcement officials investigating a drug distribution network infiltrated the drug ring through undercover agents and gained information through confidential informants. Id. at 1420. Nevertheless, we upheld the issuing judge's finding of necessity because traditional investigative techniques failed to lead "to apprehension and prosecution of suppliers, major buyers or other satellite conspirators." Id. at 1423.