Allen

After his motion to suppress evidence was denied, defendant Howard Douglas Allen pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine base (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a)) and admitted a prior serious felony conviction. (Pen. Code, § 667, subds. (b)-(i).) He was sentenced to state prison for 32 months and now appeals, claiming the court erred in denying his motion to suppress the warrantless seizure of contraband from the handlebar tube of his bicycle. We hold there was no need for a warrant to search the bicycle’s handlebar tube once the officers had probable cause to believe it contained contraband. Accordingly, we will affirm.

Facts

About 6:45 p.m. on March 27, 1998, Officers Eric Jennings and Jonathan Forbeck noticed defendant in an area of Sacramento where narcotics were frequently used and sold at all times of the day and night. Forbeck was aware that defendant had an arrest history for narcotics-related offenses.

*448 Despite the fact defendant lived 58 blocks away, both officers had previously seen defendant in the area. Each time he was riding his bicycle. The officers stopped defendant about two weeks before and confiscated food stamps that belonged to…