Cal. Codes » Health and Safety Code / DIVISION 10. UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT / CHAPTER 6. Offenses and Penalties / ARTICLE 4. Miscellaneous Offenses and Provisions
California Codes

Cal. Health and Safety Code § 11366.8 (2026)

Miscellaneous Offenses and Provisions

✓ leginfo export of Sept. 26, 2026 (applied Oct. 1, 2026)
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(a) Every person who possesses, uses, or controls a false compartment with the intent to store, conceal, smuggle, or transport a controlled substance within the false compartment shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.

(b) Every person who designs, constructs, builds, alters, or fabricates a false compartment for, or installs or attaches a false compartment to, a vehicle with the intent to store, conceal, smuggle, or transport a controlled substance shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years.

(c) The term “vehicle” means any of the following vehicles without regard to whether the vehicles are private or commercial, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, buses, aircraft, boats, ships, yachts, and vessels.

(d) The term “false compartment” means any box, container, space, or enclosure that is intended for use or designed for use to conceal, hide, or otherwise prevent discovery of any controlled substance within or attached to a vehicle, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1) False, altered, or modified fuel tanks.

(2) Original factory equipment of a vehicle that is modified, altered, or changed.

(3) Compartment, space, or box that is added to, or fabricated, made, or created from, existing compartments, spaces, or boxes within a vehicle.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 2008–2020 · leading case: People v. Arias, 195 P.3d 103 (Cal. 2008).
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People v. Arias, 195 P.3d 103 (Cal. 2008). · cites it 4× “Health and Safety Code section 11366.8, subdivision (a), [1] prohibits the possession of a "false compartment" "with the intent to .”
Pac. Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates, LLC v. City of Los Angeles, 288 P.3d 717 (Cal. 2012). “At issue there was the meaning of Health and Safety Code section 11366.8, making it a crime to possess a “false compartment” in a vehicle.”
People v. Acevedo, 209 Cal. App. 4th 1040 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012). “Health and Safety Code section 11366.8, subdivision (a), provides for punishment of persons who possess, use, or control a “false compartment” with the intent to “store, conceal, smuggle, or transport” a controlled substance.”
People v. EscobarGodinez, No. E071824 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 19, 2020). · cites it 2× “(a)), with a weight enhancement (one kilogram or more) (Health and Saf. Code, § 11370.4, subd. (b)(1)), and one count of using a false compartment with the intent to transport a controlled substance (Health and Saf.”
People v. Miranda, No. F066164 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 23, 2014). “5Health and Safety Code section 11366.8, subdivision (a) provides in pertinent part: “Every person who … uses … a false compartment with the intent to store, conceal, smuggle, or transport a controlled substance within the false compartment shall be punished by imprisonment ….”
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