Opinion ID: 457694
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Challenged Searches.

Text: 13 In support of its conclusion that the search of Rhoda Ogberaha was reasonable, the district court found that she (1) traveled from a country that is a drug source (Nigeria) and expected to stay in New York, a place far removed from her homeland, for only a week, (2) carried luggage that customs officials judged to be a small amount for international travel, (3) appeared nervous and disoriented upon deplaning, (4) was described as an experienced traveler who purchased her ticket with cash shortly before her departure for this country, and (5) wore loose fitting clothing under which she could have concealed contraband. 14 The district court also found that like Ogberaha, Ayinde (1) traveled from a source country and planned a short stay in this country, (2) carried what was described as an insufficient amount of luggage for international travel, (3) behaved in a strange manner when routinely questioned, and (4) purchased her ticket with cash shortly prior to her departure. In addition, Ayinde carried $2,000 in cash on her person and listed as her destination a hotel known to the customs inspector to be used by persons trafficking in narcotics. 15 No challenge has been made concerning the basic facts surrounding each examination. In each case, the personal search was carried out by Maria Sullivan, a female customs inspector. Before conducting each examination Sullivan identified herself and explained exactly what was required. Each search was conducted without unnecessary delay in a private examination room in the presence only of Sullivan and the defendant. At no time during the course of either search did Sullivan have any physical contact with either defendant. Instead, each defendant complied with Sullivan's request to remove the condom from her vagina. There is no claim that Sullivan abused the defendants either physically or verbally. 16 The decisions to conduct the personal searches were made by other customs officers, who had extensive experience in detecting contraband. Inspector Burns, a customs inspector for 13 years, made the decision to require a personal examination of Ogberaha. Burns was a member of the contraband enforcement team at Kennedy Airport, a mobile unit that traveled from terminal to terminal specializing in selecting passengers for intensive examination in order to trap incoming contraband. Burns testified to his experience in detecting narcotics smugglers and noted that Ogberaha was in an age category that [he] knew of people bringing in heroin. Prior to his ordering the personal examination of Ogberaha he became aware of one other female body cavity smuggler who had been apprehended that morning. Inspector Fasano, the customs inspector who requested that a personal examination of Ayinde be performed, had senior inspector Burns approve the request before turning Ayinde over to Sullivan for the search. Fasano testified that prior to commencing his tour of duty he was aware of two similar seizures made from passengers on the same flight. 17 Given the trial judge's superior position to assess witness credibility, his obvious credit of the customs officers' testimony, and the absence of any serious dispute over the basic facts, we cannot say in this case that the district judge's findings of fact were clearly erroneous or that he erred in concluding that the circumstances raised the requisite reasonable suspicion. We note the presence in each case of at least four of the Asbury factors, as well as the experience of the customs officers in detecting this type of smuggling. According to Inspector Sullivan at least four body cavity smugglers (including the defendants) were successfully apprehended from the same flight. It would not be surprising for smugglers to put several couriers on a single flight in order to increase the possibility of successfully introducing a certain amount of a high-value contraband, such as heroin; the failure of some couriers would simply amount to a cost of doing business readily offset by the high profits earned by the successful ones. 18 There was no evidence that the government agents engaged in any discriminatory or arbitrary behavior, such as subjecting all Nigerian women to greater scrutiny simply because they were Nigerian citizens. Indeed, Inspector Sullivan testified that such a sweeping search would have been impossible because of time pressure. Moreover, the searches were performed as discreetly as possible by a female inspector in a private examination room. There is no indication that the government made the events any more demeaning or intrusive than was essential to the agents' performance of their duty; discovery and seizure of internally concealed contraband of whose existence they had reasonable suspicions. 19 In sum, we find no improper conduct here on the part of the government, and we agree with the district court that the circumstances surrounding both defendants' entry into this country raised a reasonable suspicion of internal concealment that justified the searches performed. 20 Affirmed.