William George Deck and Louis Ralph Montano v. United States

Deck and Montano were jointly charged in a two-count indictment. Count one charged that they unlawfully imported marihuana from Mexico in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 176a, count two that they imported amphetamine tablets from Mexico without presenting them to a Customs Officer for inspection in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 545 . See also 19 U.S.C. § 1461 . Each was tried separately and convicted on both counts; each appeals. As to each, sentences were concurrent, 5 years on count one, 1 year on count two. We therefore confine our attention to count one. We affirm.

On the afternoon of January 8, 1967, at Nogales, the two appellants crossed the border from Mexico into the United States in an automobile. Montano was driving; Deck sat beside him. They said that they came from Mazatlan and declared no merchandise except a few Mexican cigarettes. They were directed to a secondary station for inspection. There, they were asked to put their baggage on a table for inspection, which they did, opening the trunk of the car to take it out. One of the inspectors noted a divider between the trunk space and the back of the rear seat. He pushed the divider, meeting resistance. He reached behind it and…