The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that items seized during a lawful warrantless search may be admitted as evidence in court even if they were not in plain view of the arresting officers.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario, the Court’s First Division upheld the conviction of Jeryl Bautista for illegal possession of dangerous drugs under Republic Act 9165.

Bautista was arrested during a buy-bust operation after he sold a sachet of shabu worth P500 to a police officer who posed as a buyer. Shortly after the transaction, other officers, along with a representative from the Department of Justice and two barangay officials, arrived at the scene.

During a body search conducted at the place of arrest, police discovered three additional sachets of suspected shabu concealed inside a cellphone charger.

Authorities also recovered a cellphone, screwdriver, weighing scale, and the marked money used in the operation. The seized items were marked, inventoried and photographed.

Bautista argued that the three additional sachets should not have been admitted as evidence because they were not in plain view when seized.

The High Court rejected this.