The balloons may be made with multilayered condoms, fingers of latex gloves, or more sophisticated hollow pellets. A swallower typically fills tiny balloons with small quantities of a drug. Swallowing has been used for the transportation of heroin, cocaine, and MDMA/Ecstasy. This is often done using a mule's gastrointestinal tract or other body cavities as containers. Swallowing Ībdominal X-ray showing swallowed packages of cocaine. However, even these diversionary tactics are becoming less prevalent as airport security increases. Some narcotics-trafficking organizations, such as the Mexican cartels, will purposely send one or two people with drugs on the outside of their body to purposely be caught, so that the authorities are preoccupied while dozens of mules pass by undetected with drugs inside their body. Due to increased airport security the "body packing" method is rarely used any more. Other inconspicuous places, like the soles of cut out shoes, inside belts, or the rim of a hat, were used more often prior to the early 1990s. The contraband is attached to the outside of the body using adhesive tape, glue, or straps, often in such places as between the cheeks of the buttocks or between rolls of fat. This is done by a person usually called a mule or bait. The practice of transporting goods outside or inside of the body is called body packing. In this case, smuggling may be done in plain sight, in smaller quantities, so that a suitcase full of used clothes or a new computer can be passed off as a personal possession rather than an importing business. Some contraband is legal to possess but is subject to taxes or other import restrictions, such as second-hand clothes and computers, and the purpose of the smuggling is to get around these restrictions. Sometimes the goods are hidden in the bag or vehicle of an innocent person, who does not know about the contraband, for the purpose of retrieving the goods elsewhere. In a vehicle, the contraband is hidden in secret compartments. Methods of smuggling include hiding the goods in a large vehicle, luggage, or clothes. Small-scale operations, in which one courier carries one piece or a very small quantity, are sometimes called the ant trade. Other slang terms include Kinder Surprise and Easter Egg. In the case of transporting illegal drugs, the term drug mule applies. Methods of smuggling include hiding the goods in vehicles or carried items, attaching them to one's body, or using the body as a container. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught themselves. German Customs Officer with seized cocaine containers (Bodypacks)Ī mule or courier is someone who personally smuggles contraband across a border (as opposed to sending by mail, etc.) for a smuggling organization.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |