A reasonable suspicion that a vehicle has been involved in the commission of a drug offence in the past does not, without more, support a reasonable suspicion that the vehicle contains evidence of offending at the time of a proposed search under s 52(9) of the Controlled Substances Act 1984 (SA). The temporal element — that evidence is in the vehicle at the time of detention — is critical. Police who enter private premises and detain vehicles without the requisite reasonable suspicion or a warrant under s 52(4) act unlawfully, and evidence obtained through such unlawful conduct may be excluded to censure excesses of power and secure compliance with statutory limitations on search powers.
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