United States v. Condrado Almeida-Sanchez

452 F.2d 459

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: February 3, 1972
• Docket: 26514
• Status: Published

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

Almeida-Sanchez appeals from a conviction for knowingly receiving, concealing and facilitating the transportation and concealment of approximately 161 pounds of illegally imported marijuana. 21 U.S.C. § 176a. His sole contention is that the district court erroneously denied a motion to suppress evidence, marijuana, found in a search of his car, without a warrant. We affirm.

Appellant’s vehicle was stopped by two officers of the Immigration and Naturalization Service who were conducting a roving check for aliens some 50 miles north of the Mexican border on Highway 78. One of the officers looked under the rear seat of the automobile and discovered packages that he believed to be marijuana. A subsequent search revealed many other packages of marijuana distributed throughout various parts of the vehicle. While the officer himself had never found aliens under the rear seat of an automobile, he had heard of several instances in which aliens had been concealed there. The officers had just received an information bulletin from the headquarters of the Border Patrol stating that aliens entering the United States illegally, had recently adopted the practice of sitting up directly behind the back seat of an automobile with their feet and legs doubled up under the rear seat cushion; springs would be removed from the rear seat to provide space for their legs.

This court has approved the right of Immigration Officers acting under 8 U.S.C. § 1357, 8 C.F.R. § 287.1, to stop and investigate vehicles for concealed aliens within a hundred air miles from any external boundary without a showing of probable cause. Duprez v. United States (9 Cir. 1970) 435 F.2d 1276; Fumagalli v. United States (9 Cir. 1970) 429 F.2d 1011; Miranda v. United States (9 Cir. 1970) 426 F.2d 283. A stop and search effected under 8 U.S.C. § 1357 is not a “border search” and does not depend for its validity upon the law of border searches. See Duprez v. United States, supra.

Since the initial search under the rear seat of appellant’s automobile was confined to a place where an alien might be concealed, the search was reasonable in scope. See Miranda v. United States, supra.

Affirmed.