How does drug smuggling work

Globally, drug trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry. As a profitable industry, illegal drug sales also fund the purchase of illegal weapons often used to fund organized crime and civil wars in developing countries.

Even with stringent law enforcement efforts and penalties, authorities worldwide engage in a constant struggle to stop the illicit drug trade. Laura M. Please enter the following code:. Login: Forgot password? The cost varies depending on the distance, destination, level of difficulty, method of transport air travel is dearer and requires fake documents and whether the migrant has personal links to the smugglers, or decides to work for them.

Money is often paid in instalments as a migrant moves from one group of smugglers to the next. For example, migrants from Afghanistan often use informal remittance systems, such as hawala.

Funds are deposited with a hawaladar in Afghanistan, and on each stage of the journey the migrant will contact that person to release money to other hawaladars in transit countries. The cost can involve buying fraudulent visas.

For example, the UNODC says Bangladeshi migrants hoping to work in the Gulf need a sponsor, and some recruitment companies act as such, buying work visas and selling them to migrants. Smuggling migrants involves recruiters, transporters, hoteliers, facilitators, enforcers, organisers and financiers.

Some smugglers were once themselves smuggled migrants, who now operate either in destination countries or transit states. Is this a smuggler? That was after payments to middlemen, sailing crews, shipowners — and the police. Corrupt officials — police officers, border guards, diplomats — are rarely exposed.

Smuggling networks are generally not hierarchical, but some individuals may have transnational contacts. In some cases, for example on the US-Mexico border, criminal gangs are involved.

A powerful drug cartel, Los Zetas, is believed to be supervising migrant smuggling. The protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, which supplements the UN convention against transnational organised crime, came into force in January , and countries are party to it.

There are a number of red flags that can be used to detect possible smuggling activity. All Rights Reserved. Site by Hummingbird Marketing Services. Hit enter to search or ESC to close. Close Search. Drug Smuggling. Get Our Anonymous Tips App. Contact Email info thecsgs. Suite Bartlesville, OK We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.

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