“Drug traffickers have mixed legitimate business with their illicit activities, in part, so that the former can conceal the latter” (Woody, 2017). This is commonly done through food importation, where drugs are hidden amongst food products. An example of how this is done is evident in a case in which a shipment of jalapenos and cucumbers was sent (as a legitimate business), in which over 90kg of Methamphetamine were hidden. Many other foods can be used for smuggling including; watermelons, pineapples, tortillas, salsa, cakes, frozen fish etc. (Woody, 2017)
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'Report on Drug Smuggling'
Narcotics are most commonly transported via vehicles and most food smuggling, specifically, occurs via ships or trucks. Another method used involves air transport, including both small private planes and larger commercial planes. In terms of drug smuggling in South Africa only some drugs are kept for local consumption, most are sent further overseas (commonly to Europe) via air. Thus, South Africa is used as an entry point for the redistribution of drugs. These drugs most commonly enter the country through our two busiest entry points, OR Tambo International Airport and the Durban port. (Rall, 2017)
To move the drugs across these borders, on road or by air, people commonly utilize the following methods of concealment:
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They conceal them in their stomachs, “most [drug-] mules ingest drug packets — usually tightly wrapped balloons or condoms — by swallowing them and transporting them across borders in their stomachs. “ (Woody, 2017). This method of drug smuggling is the most common and well-known way to pass by undetected.
People may also transport drugs on their person, where narcotics may be concealed “in wigs, prosthetic limbs, taped under clothes, or in any cavity they can think of, [including the anus.]” (Woody, 2017). There was even a case in Panama in which a woman was discovered to have cocaine hidden in her breast implants.
Or may hide them among their belongings. Drugs have been found hidden “in wheelchairs, bibles, children’s books, tampon boxes, and even inside the shell of an X-Box.” (Unknown, 2018).Another method of smuggling involves tunnels, this method is especially predominant across the US-Mexico border. These are no regular tunnels, Woody refers to them as “super-tunnels furnished with electric lights, motorized carts, and ventilation systems that criss-crossed the US border like veins.” (Woody, 2017). However, this method is only utilized by large and sophisticated smuggling organizations. Another hard to detect method used for smuggling involves the use of submarines, referred to as “narco subs” (Woody, 2017). These submarines are extremely costly to make; however, they can smuggle huge amounts of narcotics making the profits worth the investment. Catapults have also been used in which drugs are literally flung over country borders. However, a more modern and technologically advanced way of getting these drugs over the border, involves the use of drones.
Drugs are strapped to a drone and flown straight over the borders. The first case of this form of smuggling was discovered in January 2015. Profile/characteristics Research conducted in the US in 2013 found that drug traffickers are primarily male, most had an average age of 35 years old, and nearly half had no prior criminal histories (Unknown, 2015). The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) lists seven characteristics of a drug couriers, specific to identifying them in airports. The primary characteristics are as follows (Randal, Unknown):
Arrival from, or departure to, an identified source city.
Carrying little or no luggage, or large quantities of empty suitcases.
Unusual itinerary, such as rapid turnaround time for a very lengthy airplane trip.
Use of an alias.
Carrying unusually large amounts of currency in the many thousands of dollars, usually on their person, in briefcases or bags.
Purchasing airline tickets with a large amount of small denomination currency.
Unusual nervousness beyond that ordinarily exhibited by passengers. The secondary characteristics are (Randal, Unknown):
The almost exclusive use of public transportation, particularly taxicabs, in departing from the airport.
Immediately making a telephone call after deplaning.
Leaving a false or fictitious call-back telephone number with the airline being utilized.
Excessively frequent travel to source or distribution cities.
