You may have seen the headlines going around: "Drug charges dropped because of too much evidence" or "Charges dropped against fugitive doctor, because evidence is using too much space on federal servers." It may sound incredible, but it's at least partially true. The DEA might really be that crunched for space, with only a 40 terabyte storage system—smaller than a few projects managed by Ars Technica readers.

Ars tracked down the original motion to drop the case against Armand Angulo, a doctor living in Iowa who had illegally sold millions of dollars worth of prescription medication online. The DEA started its investigation in 2003, and indicted Angulo and about two dozen other accomplices in 2007. The problem was that Angulo fled the country to his native Panama in 2004, and Panama has been uncooperative in extraditing Angulo to the US.

In the 5 years since Angulo's indictment, the DEA amassed "two terabytes of electronic data (which consume approximately 5 percent of DEA’s world-wide electronic storage capacity), several hundred boxes of paper documents, and dozens of computers, servers, and other bulky evidence. Continued storage of these materials is difficult and expensive," read a motion filed by US Attorney Stephanie Rose in July.

"Given the slim likelihood of Angulo’s extradition from Panama, and the economic and practical hardship related to continued storage of evidence in this matter, the United States moves to dismiss the Indictment, with prejudice, against Armando Angulo," the motion continued. Dismissal with prejudice means the case can not be reopened in court, but Angulo will also be prohibited from re-entering the US.

This particular case wasn't dismissed entirely because the defendant had too much evidence against him, but rather because all that evidence would likely have to be stored indefinitely. Still, 2 terabytes of electronic data consuming 5 percent of the Administration's electronic resources would mean the DEA operates with 40TB of data storage worldwide—a ridiculously small number considering the relative affordability of terabytes of data these days.

Speaking to the Associated Press, University of Iowa computer scientist Douglas Jones suggested that "the DEA's data server must be relatively small and may need replacement, a costly and risky proposition for an agency that must maintain the integrity of documents."

Ars contacted the DEA, but could not reach anyone who could comment on the matter.