We affirm the judgments of conviction upon a holding that (1) the police acted with founded suspicion in stopping the defendants outside of the Miami International Airport Terminal, see State v. Mitchell, 377 So.2d 1006 (Fla.3d DCA 1979); State v. Battleman, 374 So.2d 636 (Fla.3d DCA 1979); Myles v. State, 374 So.2d 83 (Fla.3d DCA 1979); and thus the sniff of the gray molded suitcase1 by an officer’s dog during this stop was not tainted by any prior illegality; (2) the dog sniff itself was not a search requiring a showing of probable cause, United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 13, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 2485, 53 L.Ed.2d 538, 550, n. 8 (1977); State v. Goodley, 381 So.2d 1180 (Fla.3d DCA 1980); Mata v. State, 380 So.2d 1157 (Fla.3d DCA 1980); United States v. Sullivan, 625 F.2d 9 (4th Cir. 1980); United States v. Bronstein, 521 F.2d 459 (2d Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 918, 98 S.Ct. 1121, 47 L.Ed.2d 324 (1976), and the positive alert given by the concededly qualified dog provided the necessary probable cause required for the search of this suitcase pursuant to a war*281rant thereafter obtained, State v. Goodley, supra; and (3) notwithstanding that the trial court denied the defendants’ suppression motion on a finding that the confrontation between the police officers and the defendants was a mere encounter or contact, not requiring founded suspicion, see State v. Price, 363 So.2d 1102 (Fla.2d DCA 1978); United States v. Wylie, 569 F.2d 62. (D.C.Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 944, 98 S.Ct. 1527, 55 L.Ed.2d 542 (1978), the ruling will be upheld for the reasons stated in this opinion, see, Postell v. State, 383 So.2d 1159 (Fla.3d DCA 1980).2
Affirmed.