Opinion
December 9, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Felice Shea, J.).
The custom official's suspicion that defendant smuggled contraband was "real and based upon legitimate factors" (People v Luna, 73 N.Y.2d 173, 179), including defendant's conversation with another suspected smuggler, and his arrival from a country known for growing and exporting heroin (see, supra, at 180). There then was a sufficient legal basis for the custom authority to drill holes into the wooden slats of a crate and discover the hidden heroin.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Carro, Wallach and Asch, JJ.