New York’s highest court has ruled that police cannot conduct “destructive” searches, even after a subject gives their consent to a general public inspection.

The Court of Appeals said Tuesday, Oct. 25, that police do not have the legal right to conduct the searches. The decision reversed an appellate court’s finding that a consent search from a driver four years ago allowed authorities to pry sections of the vehicle apart on the roadside.

On Sept. 27, 2001, New York City police officers pulled Felix Gomez over for driving a car with dark-tinted windows.

Under suspicion the car might have a hidden compartment for drugs, officers asked for permission to search it. After consent was given, police removed the rear seat and then pulled up the vehicle’s carpeting, which revealed a hidden compartment containing more than a pound of cocaine.

Despite the decision, Gomez will remain in prison where he is serving a sentence of seven years to life, The Associated Press reported.

An appellate court upheld the conviction concluding officers did not exceed the scope of Gomez’s consent because he failed to place any limitations on the search, and did not object to the search as it was conducted.