Smuggling

Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.

More broadly, social scientists define smuggling as the purposeful movement across a border in contravention to the relevant legal frameworks.

Smuggling is a common theme in literature, from Bizet's opera Carmen to the James Bond spy books (and later films) Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger.

The verb smuggle, from Low German smuggeln or Dutch smokkelen (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak", most likely entered the English language during the 1600s–1700s.

[8] Grain smuggling by members of the civic elite, often working closely with corrupt customs officers, has also been shown to have been prevalent in East Anglia during the later 16th century.

The principal reason for the high duty was the need for the government to finance a number of extremely expensive wars with France and the United States.

[12]In North America, smuggling in colonial times was a reaction to the heavy taxes and regulations imposed by mercantilist trade policies.

After American independence in 1783, smuggling developed at the edges of the United States at places like Passamaquoddy Bay, St. Mary's in Georgia, Lake Champlain, and Louisiana.

In the 1990s, when economic sanctions were imposed on Serbia, a large percent of the population lived off smuggling petrol and consumer goods from neighboring countries.

In modern times, as many first-world countries have struggled to contain a rising influx of immigrants, the smuggling of people across national borders has become a lucrative extra-legal activity, as well as the extremely dark side, people-trafficking, especially of women who may be enslaved typically as prostitutes.

Much smuggling occurs when enterprising merchants attempt to supply demand for a good or service that is illegal or heavily taxed.

The iron law of prohibition dictates that greater enforcement results in more potent alcohol and drugs being smuggled.

[16] In October 2023, Spanish police arrested 11 individuals involved in smuggling migrants hidden in trucks at Algeciras sea border, connected to a network providing forged documents.

In the same month, they dismantled another criminal organization focused on supplying fake documents to migrants in Spain, primarily in the agricultural sector.

An estimated 90% of people who illegally crossed the border between Mexico and the United States are believed to have paid a smuggler to lead them across.

A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, and on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is coerced in some way.

Traffickers use coercive tactics including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, physical threats and use of force, debt bondage or even force-feeding drugs to control their victims.

According to a study by Alternatives to Combat Child Labour Through Education and Sustainable Services in the Middle East and North Africa Region (ACCESS-MENA) 30% of school children living in border villages of Yemen had been smuggled into Saudi Arabia.

[22] Each year, hundreds of thousands of migrants are moved illegally by highly organized international smuggling and trafficking groups, often in dangerous or inhumane conditions.

Smuggling is also reaping huge financial dividends to criminal groups who charge migrants massive fees for their services.

Intelligence reports have noted that drug-traffickers and other criminal organizations are switching to human cargo to obtain greater profit with less risk.

Reduction of domestic taxes enables the local producer to supply at a lower cost and bring down the price disparity that encourages smuggling.

However, Chowdhury suggested that there is a limit beyond which reducing domestic taxes on production cannot confer a competitive advantage versus smuggled cigarettes.

The high level of duty levied on alcohol and tobacco in Britain has led to large-scale smuggling from France to the UK through the Channel Tunnel.

[35] Since it can take a proper and complete inspection four to six hours, major global trade routes such as Singapore offer great opportunity for smugglers and traders alike.

What popular culture does not communicate, is that illegal drugs and arms are not the bane of customs officers and the ultimate threat to their economy.

An anonymous shipping agent said that smuggling becomes second nature to businessmen, taking finished products and misrepresenting them to offer the cheapest possible rate.

What the majority of people do not realize, is that the media and popular culture focus on criminal organizations as primary smugglers, but in reality legitimate businesses are the biggest offenders.

[46] The traffickers often strap the illicit goods to the packhorses pack saddle, so that the animal can carry more loads of contraband further and across more rugged terrain then a human courier.

[51] In certain parts of Asia, elephants have been used as pack animals to carry large amounts of drugs across wilderness areas or across borders.