IMO D

E: To correct E we need to add like before wanton poachers. treated and travelers are too far away.

This is what i feel, experts please comment.

GmatKiss wrote:No matter how patiently they explain their reasons for confiscating certain items, travelers often treat customs inspectors like wanton poachers rather than government employees.

(A) travelers often treat customs inspectors like wanton poachers rather than government employees
(B) travelers often treat customs inspectors as wanton poachers instead of government employees
(C) travelers often treat customs inspectors as if they were not government employees but wanton poachers
(D) customs inspectors are often treated by travelers as if they were wanton poachers rather than government employees
(E) customs inspectors are often treated not like government employees but wanton poachers by travelers

In A, B, and C, they seems to refer to travelers, implying that the TRAVELERS explain their reasons for confiscating. The intended meaning is that the INSPECTORS are confiscating. Eliminate A, B and C.

In E, not LIKE...but WANTON is not parallel. To maintain parallelism, the sentence must say not LIKE X but LIKE Y. Eliminate E.

The correct answer is D.

Other errors:

In E, by travelers is too far from treated, the verb being modified. A modifier should be as close as possible to what it's modifying.

In A and E, LIKE is incorrectly used to compare ACTIONS -- namely, how the inspectors, government employees, and poachers ARE TREATED. The implied comparison here is that the inspectors ARE TREATED not as government employees ARE TREATED but as poachers ARE TREATED.

Thanks a lot Guru