"Shall be secure... from searches"?

(this post is in English as I've already written the text in English for other purposes. For other readers, the headline refers to parts of the American Constitution.)

Finally home. The flight was, unfortunately, even worse than anticipated... the connections were so short, that in stopovers at both Seattle and Paris, I had to run full speed from the point of getting off the aircraft to my next gate, which in both places closed behind me. And it's not like those terminals are small.

The luggage was delayed as well, but I got it two days later. This meant I couldn't get out to my parents' cottage, but had to stay in their city apartment for the time I had in Göteborg. I noticed the left lock on the largest bag appeared to have broken - the bag was strapped shut on that side with a prominent white packing strap, being mostly closed (there was a very small gap in one corner). I had no idea at the time who would be kind enough to make sure luggage was closed enough... and even take time to strap it? But still it surprised me - the locks on that bag had been robust. You need to push that particular lock in a little special way to close it properly, but it has never sprung open on its own before...? Maybe I need to replace that lock?

I was also surprised at how I had apparently opened a few packages (like one package of brochures) before packing them. I didn't remember doing that, and it would have made no sense to do so. It wasn't until I found the note in (inside!) my bag from Department of Homeland Security (or rather, a subcontractor) with the text "Your bag has been opened and searched. Any illegal materials have been turned over to authorities. Thank you for your cooperation." that the penny finally dropped.

At this point I'm not sure whether I'm more annoyed at

1. my luggage being delayed,
2. the "thank you for your cooperation" style note of Department of Homeland Security, or
3. the fact that the locks were not broken or tampered with (my bags were doubly locked - key and code).

Nothing seems to be missing from the bag, though... but it's certainly the last time I ship my camera (with memory card), or any kind of sensitive data, outside of my personal control. It appears that locks on bags are mostly for decorative purposes.


UPDATE: Turns out more than one bag (at least two) contained the little note from DHS.