Thoroughly searched, charged and then let go (9)
I believe the answer is:
ransacked
'thoroughly searched' is the definition.
(to ransack is to search through and cause damage)
'charged and then let go' is the wordplay.
'charged' becomes 'ran'.
'and then' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'let go' becomes 'sacked' (both can mean dismissed from a job).
'ran'+'sacked'='RANSACKED'
(Other definitions for ransacked that I've seen before include "Plundered" , "Rifled" , "rifle in the past" , "turned upside down?" , "Pillaged" .)