Carlos Buelna-Mendoza, and v. United States of America, And

Appellant Buelna-Mendoza was convicted, in a trial without a jury, on charges of knowingly concealing and facilitating the transportation and concealment of 660 pounds of marihuana which the appellant knew had been imported into the United States contrary to law and of conspiring to commit the foregoing acts, all in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 176a.

At about 11:00 a. m. on August 14, 1969, an informant telephoned Leo Banda, a Special Agent for the Bureau of Customs, and advised him that a red 1964 Chevrolet Malibu, with California license plates, would be carrying a large load of marihuana to Los Angeles. The informant told Banda that the vehicle would reach Los Angeles from Calexico, California, by taking Highway 78 to Blythe, California, and then proceeding west on Highway 10. This circular route was apparently instituted to avoid contact with immigration inspection stations which are situated along the more direct route to Los Angeles. The informant identified the driver as the person who had been pointed out to Banda a week earlier, while he had been under surveillance on a sidewalk in Calexico.

Banda relayed this information, including his own description of the driver, to…