Smuggling [1 ed.] 0431006652, 9780431006659

Citation preview

ONS NN Pas ENG ; -

~ PHILIP STEELE

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

https://archive.org/details/smugglingO000stee_q5y2

PAST AND

PRESENT

SMUGGLING

In November 1991 a woman travelling from the United States to New Zealand was stopped at Auckland airport. Taped to her waist were rare parrot eggs. She had been trying to smuggle them into the country. Trade in such items is illegal.

© Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, 1993

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes ofresearch or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing ofthe publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published by Heinemann Children’s Reference, 1993, a division of Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8EJ.

OXFORD LONDON EDINBURGH MADRID PARIS ATHENS BOLOGNA MELBOURNE SYDNEY AUCKLAND SINGAPORE TOKYO IBADAN NAIROBI GABORONE HARARE PORTSMOUTH NH (USA) Devised and produced by Zoé Books Limited 15 Worthy Lane, Winchester, SO23 7AB, England Edited by Charlotte Rolfe Picture research by Faith Perkins Designed by Julian Holland Printed in China

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0 431 00665 2 Acknowledgements The author and publishers wish to thank the following who have kindly granted permission for the use of copyright material: Routledge and Kegan Paul for an extract from The Triangle of Death by Frank Robertson (1977). Photographic acknowledgements The authors and publishers also wish to acknowledge with thanks, the following photographic sources: Camera Press pp 7; 24; 29; 42: H.M. Customs and Excise pp 17; 23: Magnum pp 4 (Stuart Franklin); 35 (George Rodger); 38 (Ferdinando Scianna): Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by COI pp 33: Peter Newark Historical Pictures pp 13; 15 left & right; 43: Popperfoto title page: Topham Picture Source pp 5; 9; 21; 28; 31; 40

Cover photograph courtesy of Magnum/Abbas The publishers have made every effort to trace the copyright holders, but if they have inadvertently overlooked any, they will make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity.

CONTENTS | Anything to declare? Smugglers of the past The money motive The drug connection Contraband Winning the war? Key Dates Glossary Index

PAST*ANDI PRESENT

ANYTHING TO DECLARE?

Luggage is scanned by an X-ray machine at London’s Heathrow airport. Security and customs officers work together to ensure that explosives or weapons are not smuggled on to aircraft.

a ANYTHING TO DECLARE?

There are customs posts at most international airports, sea ports and border crossings. Customs officers keep a close watch on travellers as they pass through. Are any passengers nervous, or acting suspiciously? Could they be

carrying illegal goods in their luggage? Suitcases may be opened and searched. Vehicles may be carefully examined. Travellers entering a country are usually asked to check

a list of items which are prohibited or for which tax must

be paid. They must declare these items if they are carrying any of them. Smuggling takes place all over the world, despite the efforts of the customs officers. Concealed goods are carried through secretly Stories

through ports of entry. Illegal goods are sent the mail in letters and parcels. They are taken across borders far from the official customs posts. of smuggling make dramatic news headlines.

‘DIAMOND HAUL AT DUTCH BORDER’ or ‘PLANE FORCED DOWN IN MIAMI DRUGS SWOOP’.

A balloon fitted with radar scanners spies on routes used by drug smugglers. It is operated by the US Customs Service. Modern technology is used by both sides in the drugs war.

PAST AND PRESENT

WHAT IS SMUGGLING? Smuggling is the illegal movement of goods, people, animals or information from one place to another. Sometimes, goods may be smuggled across a private boundary, such as that around a diamond mine. They may be moved illegally across a city or state line. However, smuggling normally occurs across an international border. Each nation has laws to control the import of goods into the country and export of goods out of the country. Smugglers, who break these laws, may face severe punishment. ; The laws against smuggling vary from one country to another. All kinds of goods may be taxed by a national government. These may include alcohol, drugs, coffee or tea, perfumes, silk and lace, vehicles and fuel, plants and animals, weapons, books and videos. Forbidden goods such as these are generally known as contraband. ‘Smuggler: A wretch, who, in defiance of justice and the laws, imports or exports goods either contraband or without payment of the Customs.’

From ‘Dictionary of the English Language’ by Samuel Johnson, 1755

PROTECTING THE ECONOMY Most anti-smuggling laws are intended to protect the wealth of the country concerned. Governments make money by charging a tax, or duty, on certain goods. If this money is not paid, the government loses an important source of income, which it needs to pay for other services such as health or education. One job of customs officers is to make sure that all the duties are paid. ‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’

Benjamin Franklin, US statesman, 1789

ANYTHING TO DECLARE?

;i.

ait

¢

A spot-check on an aircraft’s hold leads to a large haul of drugs, including cocaine and marijuana. Peruvian soldiers celebrate one more victory over the international drug smugglers.

Another job of customs officials is to prevent valuable items, such as gold, diamonds, works of art or large amounts of money, from leaving the country illegally. Governments need to control the movement of such valuables, since they are part of the nation’s wealth. Governments may also try to prevent industrial secrets from leaving the country. For example, they may wish to safeguard a new invention that will bring wealth to the nation. They therefore ban its export to any competitors who may copy the invention for their own profit. Competitors may try to get round the export ban by stealing the invention and smuggling it out of the country.

4

PAST AND PRESENT

PUBLIC DANGER Many anti-smuggling laws protect the public from danger. Illegal drugs smuggled into a country in large quantities will destroy many people’s lives. Firearms or explosives may kill or injure people. Livestock or pets may carry diseases which threaten public health. It is obvious that the movement of a wide range of items across international borders must be strictly controlled, or even banned. ‘l once undertook on behalf of a friend to smugglé a small dog through the customs. |was of ample proportions, and managed to conceal the little dog upon my person. All went well until my bosom barked.’

Beatrice Stella (Mrs Patrick) Campbell (1865-1940)

Many governments restrict the import of items that they believe threaten people in other ways. They may ban videos or books that they consider to be immoral. They may ban the import of publications that oppose their own religious or political views. People who disagree with the government’s view may try to smuggle these publications into the country. Countries which are at war may try to smuggle spies or secret information across each other’s borders. Spies must learn many of the smuggler’s tricks of concealment and secrecy.

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS Sometimes a number of countries agree to ban trade with another country in order to put pressure on it. They may refuse to sell this nation arms, oil, or other vital supplies, hoping that this will force it to change its policies. Such an agreement is called an emhargo. People who try to break a trade embargo by smuggling prohibited supplies into such a country may also be punished by law.

SMUGGLERS OF THE PAST

SMUGGLERS OF THE PAST 2

{—

(jI

Hl ;

a

ES ’

ps:

el Hl

A gang of English smugglers ties two preventive officers to a horse and whips them out of town. In the eighteenth century, unfair taxation made customs officers hated throughout Europe and the North American colonies.

PAST AND PRESENT

In the form of the English language spoken a thousand years ago, there was a word smeogan or smugan. It meant to creep around in secret. The terms smuckle and smuckellor, became common

in the seventeenth century. The word

‘smuggling’ is clearly very old. The practice of smuggling has an even longer history. ANCIENT ARMS SMUGGLERS The legend of the Trojan Horse is one of many stories that have come down to us from ancient Greece. It may be over 3000 years old. The story tells how the Greeks smuggled soldiers and arms into the city of Troy after a long, unsuccessful siege. They left a large wooden statue of a horse outside the city walls, and sailed away out of sight of the city. The Trojans were fooled into thinking that the horse was an offering to the gods. They pulled the horse into the city, not realizing that the Greeks had hidden soldiers and arms inside. SMUGGLERS ON THE SILK ROAD One account of the smuggling of an industrial secret dates back to about AD 550. The Chinese were the first people to learn how to manufacture silk and they guarded the secret carefully. Justinian, ruler of the eastern Roman empire, wanted to produce silk more cheaply in the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul), instead of importing it all the way from China. He therefore plotted with two Persian priests who knew the Chinese empire well. He got them to smuggle silkworm eggs out of China inside hollow bamboo sticks. CONTROLS AND COUNTERFEITS Customs duties developed early in the history of Europe. It is known that the Romans at one time placed a tax of 25 percent on goods exported out of the empire. After the western Roman empire broke up in the fifth century, local rulers began to demand a contribution from merchants trading through their ports. During the Middle Ages, European rulers often demanded a percentage of the actual goods traded. For

SMUGGLERS OF THE PAST

example, they had the right to take for themselves one barrel of wine out of every 20 imported into the country. Later laws made such dues payable in money rather than in goods. In 1203 King John of England appointed customs officers at his main ports. They collected duties on goods such as wine, leather and wool. Smugglers of sheep and wool were sometimes Known as owlers, because they operated under cover of darkness and signalled to each other by hooting like owls. Punishment for smuggling was severe. Smugglers of counterfeit coins into England faced the death penalty, since this crime was classed as treason. THE FREE TRADERS When European powers such as France, Spain, Portugal, England and the Netherlands founded new colonies in the Americas, Asia and Africa, it was no longer easy to control the taxation of imports and exports. The produce of colonial plantations, such as sugar, sometimes had to be

shipped back to Europe for customs duties to be paid and then re-shipped to its destination. As early as 1597, Flemish and French ships were smuggling American tobacco into England via the small, half-hidden beaches of Cornwall. England’s American colonies wished to trade directly with those of Spain and they did so, without paying the legal duties. They called it free trade, but the English authorities regarded it as smuggling. In 1744 about 40 American merchant ships were trading directly in this way. Arguments over customs duties finally led to the American War of Independence. American colonists were forced to pay the British government a duty of three pence for every pound of Indian tea, so in 1773, disguised as Indians, they tipped the cargoes of British merchant ships into Boston harbour. This famous protest became known as the Boston Tea Party. At home, the British were as reluctant to pay customs duties as their American cousins. It was estimated that by 1784 well over half the the tea drunk in Britain had been smuggled into country.

eh

PAST AND PRESENT

THE SMUGGLERS’ GOLDEN AGE Towards the end of the seventeenth century, European rulers had begun to increase duties on items such as salt and tobacco in order to pay for wars with their neighbours. Poor people became even poorer. The wars between Britain, the Netherlands, Spain and France led to shortages of luxury goods. Navies would blockade the ports of their enemies to prevent trade. It is not surprising that many poor fishermen decided to turn smuggler, running tobacco, brandy or lace into small and distant creeks or bays. . Anti-smuggling forces were established in several countries. These preventive officers patrolled the coasts with the aim of catching smugglers and bringing them to justice. Some officers travelled by horseback. Others commanded fast sailing vessels known as cutters. In Britain laws were passed to control local boat building, to

ensure that the ships of merchants and smugglers could not carry more sail than those of the preventive officers. Smuggling became common in many parts of western Europe. Notorious strongholds included offshore islands such as the Isle of Man, the Scillies or the Channel Islands,

ports such as Roscoff in Brittany, and remote fishing

villages such as Polperro in Cornwall. Ships sailed by night or in foul weather, often splitting the cargo between smaller boats before approaching the coast. Barrels of brandy would be tied to ropes offshore and anchored underwater. They could later be raised by hooks and chains. Caves, disused mine shafts and secret passages were used for storage. Smugglers traded with rich and poor alike. Their customers included lords and ladies, squires and priests or ministers. Smuggled goods would be delivered by men, women and seemingly innocent children, concealed in Bibles or hidden under dresses and coats. The preventive officers were often corrupt, and could be easily bribed to turn a blind eye. Those who did not were sometimes attacked and murdered. Preventive officers were often supported by the army and the navy, and there were many pitched battles.

SMUGGLERS OF THE PAST

Smugglers became popular heroes, for all their violence and ruthlessness. People loved to hear stories of how preventive officers had been fooled and made to look stupid.

CHANGES IN EUROPE During the nineteenth century, smuggling between European countries declined. In Britain the customs laws were simplified, and this made them easier to enforce. In 1815, the long series of wars between England and France came to an end, and free trade was encouraged. At the same time, large numbers of former soldiers were now employed as preventive officers. The days of easy smuggling seemed to be over, at least as far as Europe was concerned. The story in the overseas colonies of the European powers was rather different.

Britain’s Royal Navy fights for the right of British merchants to turn the Chinese into a nation of opium addicts. These Chinese junks were attacked in 1841, to the fury of Chinese customs Officers.

PAST AND PRESENT

THE CHINESE CONNECTION If Britain was suppressing smuggling in Europe, in Asia it was engaging in it officially — under the name of free trade.

During

the

1820s,

British

merchants

in India

exported vast amounts of opium to China. The trade was prohibited by the Chinese emperor, as more and more of his subjects became addicted to the deadly drug. In 1839 Lin Zexu, a Chinese government commissioner, was sent to Canton (Guangzhou) to put an end to the illegal trade. He ordered the destruction of 20 000 chests of imported opium. In revenge, Britain sent in its navy and attacked China in a series of terrible wars. ‘Itis wrong to make profit out of what is harmful to others, to bring opium (which you do not smoke in your own land) to our country... | now call upon you to hand over for destruction all the opium you have on your ships and sign an undertaking that you will never bring opium here again, and that you are aware that if you are found to have done so your goods will be confiscated and you yourselves dealt with according to the law.’ Lin Zexu’s ultimatum to British merchants, 1839

SMUGGLING PEOPLE TO FREEDOM A totally different form of smuggling grew up in North America at this time. A secret network of routes was set up to smuggle African Americans, who were enslaved in the southern states, to freedom in the northern states and in Canada. The severe Fugitive Slave Law forbade the sheltering of escaped slaves. However, pressure groups and individuals who wished to abolish slavery smuggled over 40 000 to their freedom before the American Civil War broke out in 1861. SPIES, ARMS AND REFUGEES The many wars of the twentieth century saw the smuggling of secrets, people and arms. For example, in the Second World War (1939-45) refugees were smuggled

SMUGGLERS OF THE PAST

Above: Some smugglers work for the good of humanity. Harriet Tubman (1821 - 1913) defied unjust laws by helping to smuggle slaves out of the southern states. Many African Americans escaped to freedom along a route known as the ‘Underground Railroad’.

Right: A girl reveals bottles hidden in special pockets beneath her skirt. Such tricks of the trade were known to every bootlegger of the 1920s, when alcohol was banned in the United States.

OO ee

PAST AND PRESENT

out of enemy territory and spies were smuggled in. Air transport now made it possible for goods and people to be parachuted into another country under cover of darkness. From the 1950s to the 1980s there was a period of political tension between the western powers and their wartime ally, the Soviet Union. During this ‘Cold War’ the German city of Berlin was divided by a wall into sectors controlled by the Soviet Union and the western powers. People who tried to cross the wall illegally were shot by the East German police. However, many refugees were successfully smuggled through the checkpoints. Some were hidden inside secret compartments of cars. The East German police used large mirrors to check that no one was clinging to the underside of buses or lorries. They checked baggage to see if it contained miniature cameras or weapons. Even tubes of toothpaste and lipstick were examined.

DRINK, DRUGS AND DOLLARS Many people think that drug smuggling is a problem of today. In fact, as early as 1921, police in New York were trying to break a drug-smuggling ring which was operating between Germany and the United States. In 1927, Hong Kong customs officers seized 230 kilograms of dangerous drugs from just one European passenger. At the same time, gangsters from the world of organized crime were also making profits from the illegal supply of alcohol. Throughout the 1920s, the sale of alcohol was banned in the United States. The prohibition laws were intended to protect families from the misery caused by alcohol and drunkenness, but the results were rather different. Illegal bars sprang up all over the country. They were supplied by bootleggers who smuggled alcohol into the United States from Europe and the islands of the Caribbean,

or across

the land border with Canada,

in

operations known as rum-running. Lorries carrying the illegal drinks were often stolen, and rival gangs fought over control of the supplies. The prohibition of alcohol was finally brought to an end in 1933, when people agreed that the laws were simply encouraging the criminals.

THE MONEY MOTIVE

THE MONEY

Container traffic has made it easier for the customs to control

illegal imports and exports. However officers must still check freight against documents and examine any suspicious items.

ose eee ee eee

PAST AND PRESENT

Trading has changed a great deal since the days of camel caravans and sailing ships, of bales of silk and barrels of brandy. Today, it takes only a few hours to fly goods across a continent. However, the basics of trade remain

the same. Goods are still imported and exported, and customs duties are still charged on many different items. The smugglers are still at work, and governments still lose large sums from lost duty. ‘The more living standards are squeezed by taxation, the greater is the temptation to evade that taxation.’ Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister 1977

SMALL-TIME SMUGGLERS On returning from an overseas holiday, travellers face a choice at many customs posts. They may walk or drive through a ‘green channel’ if they have nothing to declare, or pass through a ‘red channel’ if they intend to pay duty. Some travellers try to carry an extra crate of wine or bottle of expensive perfume through the customs post without paying the required duty. They may be stopped, questioned and searched by customs officers. Smuggled items may be found hidden in suitcases, inside coats or under the seats of cars. Several wrist watches may be worn at once. These are normally the tricks of amateur smugglers or petty crooks. They often give themselves away to the trained eye of the customs officer. If contraband is found they must pay the duty due. They may also be fined or tried in a criminal court. Contraband may be removed or confiscated by the officers. It is then placed in an official store and sold off or destroyed. THE DUTY DODGERS A far more serious threat is posed when criminals conspire to avoid customs duty on a larger scale. All air, land or sea cargoes must be carefully documented and checked. A bill of lading is issued when the carrier receives goods from

THE MONEY MOTIVE

the supplier.

It must

list the exact

contents

of the

container or load. Truck drivers, as well as air or sea crews, must complete import and export forms at ports of

entry and departure. Customs officers are entitled to check the contents of holds and freight containers. Once the container has been checked for export its lock may be threaded with an official metal seal. Customs officers at other border posts on the journey will be able to check if this seal has been broken or tampered with. Smugglers may try to fool the customs by concealing goods, by producing false bills of lading, by forging import and export licences, by exchanging the number plates of vehicles or switching loads. Customs officers may use remotely controlled video cameras to survey lorry parks and wharves. Customs or police officers may follow suspect trucks as they are driven away from the post. They need to discover the routes used by the smugglers, and find out which firms or individuals are involved in the

operation. Sometimes these operations take months or even years, until the smugglers can be caught.

COMMON MARKETS AND TRADING FRAUDS Smuggling mostly thrives where there is a profit to be made by avoiding the payment of duties. Many regions of the world now operate trading agreements, customs unions or common markets. Nations cooperate with their neighbours in simplifying the tariff, or system of duties.

Ninety-five

nations

are

members

of

the

General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), one of whose aims is to reduce trade barriers. Since 1992 the twelve member states of the European

Community have operated a single market, within which no internal duties are payable. Such groupings put the duty-dodging smuggler out of business, but only within that market. Duties are still payable — and avoidable — on goods imported from or exported to the rest of the world. Within most common markets, there is still some scope for trading frauds and smuggling. For example, farmers

SS EEE

PAST AND PRESENT

may get extra money from their government each time they export pigs or cattle to another member state. The

livestock may be legally exported, but then smuggled back across the border to be re-exported. In -this way the government

payment

is claimed

twice

on

the same

animals. MOVING MONEY Ever since money has been in use, governments have had to control its movement. A nation’s wealth can soon be undermined if forged coins or banknotes are smuggled into a country. Today, this kind of smuggling is most easily carried out by using computers, by the transfer of funds to secret bank accounts overseas. In the age of credit cards and cheques, money need no longer be carried over borders in the form of coins or banknotes. However, money often still is smuggled over borders and countries regulate the amount of cash and type of currency that may be taken out. Customs officials may search people and luggage for undeclared cash. They also keep a close watch on the cash carried by travellers for other reasons. Suitcases full of banknotes may have been obtained by robbery or drug trafficking. PRECIOUS CARGOES Smugglers of gold and silver have found many different hiding places in vehicles or aircraft. Gold has even been discovered packed inside the hollow frame of a bicycle. The weight of the machine soon aroused the suspicion of customs officers, who proceeded to take it apart. Diamonds and gems are small and easier to conceal. They may be smuggled out of the high-security mines or seized in transit to the workshops where they are cut and polished. They may be carried across international frontiers. They are sometimes hidden about the body or concealed inside clothing or manufactured objects. Real cut diamonds may be inserted in cheap jewellery amongst paste and glass substitutes, so that they will be overlooked.

THE MONEY MOTIVE

ESTLE? MILK

Serrrrores

Any hollow space can be put to good use by the professional smuggler. Illegal gold has been discovered hidden in secret pockets, in tins of food, in hidden suitcase compartments, inside typewriters, globes and bicycle frames. Once the contraband has been found, the smuggler must be identified — his passport may be forged or stolen.

PAST AND PRESENT

One major diamond producer is the West African country of Sierra Leone. It depends heavily on diamond mining and on diamond taxes paid to the government. However, over the years people have smuggled large quantities of diamonds from Sierra Leone to other countries where uncut diamonds can fetch a higher price. Income from diamond taxes has also been lost, and the country has become poorer as a result.

ART TREASURES Part of a nation’s wealth includes priceless treasures such as paintings, carvings or sculptures. Many governments forbid the export of such items. However, people know that they can be sold for very large sums to dealers and museums overseas. The most famous art robbery of all time took place on 21 August 1911, when Leonardo da Vinci’s La Gioconda (known as the ‘Mona Lisa’) was stolen from the Louvre in Paris and smuggled into Italy. It was finally recovered from there two years later. More recently in Italy, gangs of grave-robbers have illegally dug up Etruscan tombs which are 2600 or more years old. They have stolen the treasures they contain and smuggled them out of the country. Such smugglers care little for traditions or religious beliefs. Ancient paintings have been smuggled out of monasteries, churches and temples around the world, from Nepal to the Soviet Union, and sold to private collectors, for individual profit. INDUSTRIAL SECRETS The late twentieth century has seen new technologies grow more quickly than ever before. A nation’s wealth may depend on its skill at developing its electronics or chemicals industries. Companies guard their secrets jealously and governments often ban the free export of technology. During

the

Cold

War

period,

the

United

States

prohibited the export of certain electronic goods to the Soviet Union. Even so, their rivals obtained and copied

many of them. Tracking down international smuggling of this kind needs painstaking detective work and international cooperation.

THE MONEY MOTIVE

Religious pictures called icons are often very valuable. Thieves may steal them from a church or monastery and smuggle them out of the country. They may be sold to overseas collectors or museums.

PAST AND PRESENT

THE DRUG CONNECTION

A poor Thai woman collects the sticky brown opium poppy. The growers themselves make They are just pawns in a game which involves smuggling and gang warfare. This opium may heroin on the streets of Amsterdam or Paris.

sap of the little money. international end up as

THE DRUG CONNECTION

The number one smuggling problem in the world today has nothing to do with tariffs or the collection of customs duties. Drug smuggling is prohibited because it can destroy the lives of thousands of people. The people who produce the drugs often come from poor countries. They use the money they can earn by selling drugs to feed and clothe their families. Some people who take drugs come from rich backgrounds. They take drugs because it may be fashionable or glamorous to do so within their circle of friends. However, often the people who take dangerous drugs are poor. The drugs make them feel good, so they can forget about the conditions in which they live. As soon as they start to take some drugs their bodies become addicted to them. Then they will have to spend money buying drugs, rather than food or clothes. Gradually the drugs destroy their bodies, and they may even die. On 28 September 1989, a haul of 20 tonnes of cocaine was seized by police from a warehouse in Los Angeles, in the United States. It was believed to have a street value of over 7 billion US dollars. This single haul would have caused untold misery and suffering if it had not been discovered and destroyed in time.

WHICH DRUGS ARE SMUGGLED? Tobacco and alcohol are of course dangerous, but in most countries they are not illegal, provided duties are paid on them. Many governments earn large amounts of money from these duties. Other drugs, however, are considered to be more dangerous, even deadly. Some of these most commonly smuggled drugs are shown below: Description Name Amphetamines Various synthetic drugs which excite the nervous system. Leaves of the Indian hemp (cannabis) Marijuana plant. Treated oil or resin from Indian hemp. Hashish Achemical, manufactured in laboratories LSD (‘acid’) as a liquid or in tablet form. White powder produced from the coca Cocaine plant.

EE

PAST AND PRESENT

‘Crack: Opium Heroin

Cocaine, processed into crystals. Extract from a particular type of poppy. A refined form of the pain-killing drug morphine, which is produced from opium. Ecstasy A synthetic drug which became widely taken by young people in the 1990s. Drugs such as heroin or crack cause desperation and death. Addicts need to spend more and more money on them, but are increasingly incapable of work. They may steal in order to finance their habit. Babies whose mothers use crack or heroin may themselves be born addicted. Needles used for injection may be infected with killer diseases such as AIDS or hepatitis. Rival gangsters fight and murder in order to control the supply of the drugs. ‘(Crack) is reaching out to destroy the quality of life, and life itself, at all levels of American society.’ ‘New York Times’, 28 May 1989

How big is the problem? In 1990 the British customs reported seizures of 315 kilograms of heroin and 290 kilograms of cocaine. During the same year the US customs seized 697 kilograms of heroin and nearly 75 000 kilograms of cocaine.

THE RACKET BUSTERS The first line of defence against drug smuggling is, where possible, the destruction of the drug in its country of origin. Opium poppies are traditionally grown in Asia, from Turkey to Burma. The area from which much heroin is supplied is a remote area of Burmese jungle known as the ‘Golden Triangle’. Coca is grown in South America, in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.

The United States and other western nations have tried many methods to stop the cultivation of coca and opium. They have sent in armed squads to destroy crops and trap the gangsters who organize the processing and

THE DRUG CONNECTION

smuggling of the drugs. They have paid other governments to encourage the cultivation of alternative crops and to bring the drug gangs to justice. They have arranged for foreign police to be paid rewards for the arrest of drug smugglers. However, the latter policy has led to the arrest of innocent people by corrupt police, and no method so far has been entirely successful. If one source is closed down, another soon springs up.

SEALED BORDERS The second line of defence is to try to close the borders and coasts to the drug smugglers. Customs officers must check mail, freight arriving from abroad, vehicles, fishing boats. It often seems like a hopeless task.

‘the task of... the (Hong Kong) preventive officers is made no easier by the annual arrival of 25 000 aircraft, with almost 4 million passengers, and 7500

ocean-going vessels carrying 14 million metric tonnes of cargo. To this list of potential drug-carriers must be added 5500 Hong Kong-based fishing junks and sampans, constantly coming and going, to which drug consignments are often landed at sea. These illicit cargoes may be landed at more than 230 islands...’

From ‘The Triangle of Death’ by Frank Robertson, 1977

Any hollow space may be packed with illegal substances. Drugs have been discovered inside shipments of timber, rubber and processed foods, dissolved in bottles of wine, packed inside pumpkins and crates of out books, hollowed instruments, fruit, musical spare tyres, hubcaps, children’s dolls, car headlamps and boat hatches, heels of shoes. People have even been known to smuggle sealed drugs inside their own bodies.

WHO ARE THE DRUG SMUGGLERS? The growers of coca and opium are normally very poor farmers who cannot make a living in any other way. They

MM

PAST AND PRESENT

When is a banana not a banana? When it contains hashish, sewn inside the skin. The drug was smuggled into Britain’s Heathrow airport by a passenger from Nigeria.

themselves make little profit from their crops. At the other end of the line of supply, the dealers on the city streets may also be poor. They are often desperate people, unemployed and themselves addicted to drugs. The drug barons in the middle of this chain are greedy, ruthless and violent. The chief drug smuggling rackets are operated by international criminal organizations. The South American cocaine traffic is organized by criminal

THE DRUG CONNECTION

cartels operating out of Medellin and Cali in Colombia. They have their own secret armies and have brought civil war to their homeland. The ‘families’ of the Mafia organize crime from Sicily to New York, and control heroin smuggling on a massive scale. Private armies controlled by warlords control the Golden Triangle trade in heroin. The Chinese ‘Triad’ gangs based in Hong Kong smuggle the heroin into Europe and the United States. A great deal of drug smuggling is also carried out by smaller organizations and individuals, by corrupt officials and businessmen. The profits are vast. As the United States began its 1979 campaign against drug smuggling, it was estimated that

coca leaf purchased for 625 US dollars in South America,

duly processed and smuggled, had a street value of 560 000 dollars in New York City. In Colombia, cocaine

became an export more valuable than coffee.

’s A private army on the march carries opium from Burma t rival ‘Golden Triangle’. Firearms are used in battles agains . guards smugglers or against border

eee

PAST AND PRESENT

With such wealth, the drug barons could afford to bribe police and customs officials. Even national governments were persuaded to turn a blind eye in return for a share of the profits. The leader of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, became suspected of involvement with the Medellin cartel. After the American invasion of Panama,

Noriega was taken to Florida in 1990 to face 12 charges of drug trafficking. At the same time newspaper reports alleged that agents of the American government were themselves involved in the illegal international movement of drugs. The people who control the international drugs trade rarely get caught red-handed. They pay others to do their dirty work. Sometimes these couriers are petty criminals. Sometimes they are innocent teenagers, duped into carrying packages over the border. They may not realise how they are being used. In many countries, the couriers may face long periods of imprisonment or even the death penalty. In the meantime, the drug barons and warlords walk free and grow rich.

CONTRABAND

ONTRABAND

Conflicts around the world are often made worse by the international arms smugglers. These weapons, seized by American FBI agents in 1981, were intended for the IRA, who were fighting British troops in Northern Ireland.

ee PAST AND PRESENT e ee S See

In April 1986 Ann Marie Murphy queued with other passengers bound for Israel at London’s Heathrow airport. She carried a case belonging to her Jordanian

boyfriend,

Nezar

Hindawi.

When

security

officers

searched her baggage, they found that the case had a false bottom. Inside the secret compartment was a 5 kilogram bomb, designed to explode in mid-air. Ann Marie Murphy was an innocent smuggler. She had been fooled into carrying the case by Hindawi, who had been quite willing to cause her death along with the destruction of the crew and 360 other passengers on the El Al plane.

BOMBS AND WEAPONS During the 1970s and 1980s it became common for terrorists and hijackers to smuggle arms and explosives on to aircraft and passenger liners, or over national borders.

In the United States, FBI detectives uncovered crates of

weapons, including anti-tank cannons, which were to be smuggled into Northern Ireland, where the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was fighting British troops. Arms smugglers are normally hungry for the large profits which can be made from this trade. Some, however, may get involved because they believe in a particular political cause. Smuggled weapons may be used by criminals for robbery or gang warfare. One government may smuggle arms to revolutionaries or terrorists which it supports in another country. During the 1980s the United States smuggled arms to fighters in both Afghanistan and Nicaragua.

BEETLES AND MAD DOGS Threats to the public may also come from rather more unlikely sources. The tiny Colorado beetle is a pest which destroys potato crops on a massive scale. In the 1920s it reached France from the United States in a ship’s cargo of potatoes, and soon threatened the farmers of Europe. Insect pests today destroy fruit, tmber and other crops around the world. Cargoes are carefully checked to ensure that they are free of dangerous pests or fungi which could make people ill.

CONTRABAND

RABIES

LARAGE TOLLWUT HONDKD

DON’T SMUGGLE ANIMALS

N'INTRODUISEZ PAS CLANDESTINEMENT DES ANIMAUX

SCHMUGGELN SIE KEINE SAUGETIERE

SMOKKEL NOOIT DIEREN OVER DE GRENS

You could bring rabies into Britain, putting lives at risk.

Vous pourriez introduire la rage dans les iles Britanniques et mettre en danger la vie de personnes et d’animaux.

Sie k6nnten Tollwut in das Vereinigte K6nigreich einschleppen und damit das Leben von Menschen und Tieren gefahrden.

Vous allez a |’étranger? —

Reisen Sie ins Ausland? — Nehmen Sie keine Haustiere mit!

Doet u dit wel, dan kan er op de Britse Eilanden hondsdolheid uitbreken, waardoor mensen en dieren in levensgevaar worden gebracht.

Going abroad? — Don’t take pets with you. Coming in? - Don’t bring any animals with you. Animal smugglers face unlimited fines and up toa year in prison. The law applies even if the animal is vaccinated against rabies. All animal imports must be licensed and animals quarantined for six months. BRINGING MADNESS

ITINIS

N’emmenez pas d’animaux familiers avec

vous. Vous arrivez dans les iles Britanniques? — N'introduisez aucun animal. Les personnes qui introduisent clandestinement des animaux sont passibles d’une amende d’un montant non limité et d’une peine atteignant jusqu’a un an de prison. La loi s'applique méme si animal est vacciné contre la rage. Toutes les importations d’animaux nécessitent l'obtention préalable d'une licence et les animaux doivent étre mis en quarantaine pendant six mois.

Reisen Sie ein? — Bringen Sie keine Saugetiere mit! Wer ein Saugetier einschmuggelt, kann zu einer Geldstrafe in unbegrenzter Héhe und zu einer Gefangnisstrafe von bis zu einem Jahr verurteilt werden.

Das Gesetz gilt auch fur gegen Tollwut geimpfte Saugetiere. Die Einfuhr eines Saugetieres ist nur nach vorheriger Genehmigung zulassig, und das Tier muB sechs Monate in Quarantane verbringen. DIE ’REINZUBRINGEN IST WAHNSINN

Gaat u naar het buitenland? — Neem uw huisdieren dan niet met u

mee. Gaat u weer naar huis terug? — Neem ook dan geen dieren met u

mee. Wie dieren over de grens smokkelt, riskeert onbeperkte boetes en tot

op é€n jaar gevangenisstraf. De wet is zelfs van toepassing op dieren die al tegen hondsdolheid zijn ingeént. Voor het importeren van dieren is altijd een vergunning nodig en dieren moeten zes maanden in quarantaine worden gedaan.

HET IS KRANKZINNIG EEN DIER BINNEN TE BRENGEN

C’EST FOLIE DE L’INTRODUIRE

Prepared for the Minstry of Agncultura, Fahenes and Food by the CentralOfficeinformation. ‘Printed n theUK forHMSO October 1989 D48)71843MAFF J0297NJ

A British poster warns anyone smuggling pets about the dangers of rabies. Countries may require quarantine or vaccination certificates before allowing a pet to enter.

The movements of animals such as pigs, cattle and poultry are even more closely controlled. The aim of these restrictions is to prevent diseases such as foot-and-mouth spreading from one country to another. Farmers or carriers who smuggle spoiled produce or infected livestock on to the market put the livelihood of others at

rE ne

PAST AND PRESENT

risk. In poorer parts of the world, cattle disease or crop failure can cause famine. Signs at many border posts warn travellers of the fines for smuggling pet dogs. Dogs, like many wild animals, can catch a terrible disease called rabies. This makes them foam at the mouth and twitch until they die. Humans bitten by a dog with rabies may need an injection to save their lives. Countries which do not suffer from rabies make sure that they control the way in which pets enter the country. Pets must be placed in quarantine. This means that they are isolated for several months until it is certain that they are free of infection. Travellers often try to smuggle their pets into a country, either because they cannot bear to part with their favourite dog or because they cannot afford quarantine fees. Pet smugglers put at risk countless other pets and wild animals. They also threaten the lives of humans. ‘A Renault 6 coming into Dover from Holland was searched and 16 assorted birds were found concealed in the hollow cross-member supporting the rear seats... Another four were found concealed on the driver’s person.’

‘Investigation Review’, September 1977

PARROTS AND IVORY Overseas movement of many plants and animals is banned in order to protect rare species of wildlife. Around the world, the survival of many creatures is under threat. Some governments have signed treaties such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Agreements like these try to restrict the trade in live creatures such as tortoises or reptiles, which are sold as pets, or in wild birds of prey sold to zoos or falconers. Smugglers of wild animals often transport rare creatures in cruel conditions, cramming them into crates without enough air or water. Many die in transit.

CONTRABAND

,

SEE:

Z

These elephant tusks were seized by game wardens in Zaire. Poached ivory still finds its way on to the international market, despite a ban on the trade. The continued smuggling of ivory threatens the future of the African elephant.

The problem is serious. Perhaps 100 species of parrot are at risk in the world. In 1986 over 600 000 individual parrots were recorded as having been traded. However millions were sold illegally, and very many of these were smuggled. Some rare birds can fetch £10 000 or more a pair. The eggs of rare birds may also be contraband, as well as

the products of endangered species, such as elephant ivory or rhinoceros horn. Ivory is used to make jewellery, chess

pieces and souvenirs. Rhinoceros horn is used to make dagger handles and traditional medicines in Asia. For smugglers, the rewards are high. Powdered rhinoceros

a

———————————

PAST AND PRESENT

horn can fetch 30 000 US dollars per kilogram on the illegal market. Ivory smugglers are part of an international criminal network every bit as ruthless as that of the drug barons.

BOOKS, FILMS AND VIDEOS It is easy to understand why the smuggling of drugs, arms, explosives or ivory is banned. More arguments surround the import and export of banned books, films and videos. These may be _ prohibited because they are pornographic or obscene. They may have a harmful effect on the public, especially on young people. However, the profits to be made by smuggling pornography are considerable. Whilst many people welcome the seizure of pornography by customs officers, others believe that it interferes with freedom of expression. Some publications may be banned for political reasons. In 1991 the Kenyan authorities seized copies of the Observer newspaper at Nairobi airport, because it carried an article critical of the Kenyan government. The more any government tries to control the inflow of criticism, the more its opponents will try to smuggle publications into the country. However radio, satellite television and fax machines mean that it is no longer possible to keep a border completely sealed against critical views. Some customs services may prevent the import of films, videos or publications on religious grounds, if the government opposes or supports a particular faith. During the Cold War period, the Soviet government promoted atheism, or disbelief in God. Some foreign Christians, posing as tourists, tried to smuggle Bibles into the Soviet Union. Others tied packets of Bibles to balloons and released them across the border from Finland. ON THE MOVE People living in poverty may try to enter another country illegally, in search of work. Many Mexicans manage to enter the United States by evading border patrols, swimming rivers and slipping through fences. Thousands of Vietnamese have undertaken dangerous sea voyages in

i

eS CONTRABAND

tiny boats, immigrants vehicles or freely from

in attempts to enter Hong Kong. Illegal may be smuggled into countries hidden in freight containers. Whilst rich people move one country to another, poor migrants are

often forced to risk their lives in this way. People may also be smuggled out of a country illegally. They may be criminals or the victims of crime. They may be refugees, fleeing from persecution. In 1989 demonstrating students were killed by government troops in Beijing, the Chinese capital. Survivors were smuggled out of the country to Hong Kong, in an operation codenamed ‘Yellowbird’.

PAST AND PRESENT

WINNING THE WAR?

Armed Bolivian agents, searching the jungle near Beni, discover a secret camp where cocaine is processed. The Bolivian agents, known as Leopardos, work closely with US drug enforcement officers.

WINNING THE WAR?

Who catches smugglers? Customs officers do not work alone. They are assisted by regional and national police forces and by Interpol, the international police commission based in Paris. The police forces of 154 countries have links with Interpol. A list of Interpol’s ten most ‘wanted’ criminals published in 1991 revealed that at least half of them are wanted for running smuggling rackets — in drugs, in arms, in works of art. Many countries have set up special organizations to

combat drug smuggling. These may be part of the police, or independent groups with their own powers, such as the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Italian Servizio Centrale Antidroga (SCA). Coastguards too have the important job of monitoring shipping movements around the coast. For big operations a special task force may be drawn up, with its members taken from the various organizations involved. A South Florida Task Force, set up in the United States in January 1982, included members of the DEA, the US Attorney’s Office, the Customs Service, the Coastguard, the Border Patrol, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the International Revenue Service, the US treasury, and the US army and

navy.

MOUNTING AN OPERATION In February 1982 the DEA announced the success of another operation, code-named ‘Tiburon’. It had lasted 14 months and resulted in the arrest of 495 people. Ninetyfive ships had been seized and no less than 2903 tonnes of marijuana from Colombia had been confiscated. Such operations are expensive and need careful planning, since the biggest drug cartels are themselves huge organizations, run as secret armies. Day after day must be spent observing suspects. Informers must be paid and protected from revenge attacks. Undercover agents pretend to make deals with the smugglers in order to entrap them. Every clue must be followed up. Who has paid unusually large sums into bank accounts? Who has been purchasing the special chemicals needed to process

PAST AND PRESENT

cocaine, such as ethyl ether? Where have suspects been travelling? Customs officers sometimes even allow smuggled goods to pass through their borders so that the route may be traced and arrests made overseas. In the year 1989-90 HM Customs and Excise allowed 57 kilograms of heroin, 31 kilograms of cocaine and.6 kilograms of cannabis to be smuggled through Britain in this way. This finally led to 51 arrests overseas. In spite of all the latest technology which can be used to track smuggled goods, most successful prevention work relies on old-fashioned skills, on an eye for détail or a suspicion that something is wrong. German shepherd dogs trained to sniff out drugs or explosives may be worth more than the latest clever hardware. There is no substitute for painstaking detective work, or for the

1s * XAG idtas

‘Bessie’ sniffs for hidden drugs at Frankfurt-am-Main international airport in Germany. The six-year old German shepherd dog was specially trained to assist customs officers.

WINNING THE WAR?

minute searching of ships and aircraft — ‘rummaging’ as it is traditionally known to British customs officers. Perhaps the most important quality required in the fight against the smugglers is honesty. It is all too easy for police, agents or customs officers to be tempted by bribes or to give in to threats. Confiscated contraband may be resold rather than destroyed. Between 1973 and 1991, 15 DEA agents were themselves convicted by courts in the United States.

BROUGHT TO JUSTICE? Bringing smugglers to court is perhaps the hardest part of the anti-smuggling effort. Many cases depend on a smuggler being extradited from another country. Procedures for this are often slow or ineffective. In court,

suspicions must be backed up by hard evidence. Drug barons or diamond smugglers can afford the best lawyers to defend them. Conviction of mere couriers and runners will do little to stop major smuggling rackets in the long term.

WHOIS WINNING THE WAR? The story of smuggling is an ancient one and the final chapter is far from being written. Smuggling is unlikely ever to be halted completely. Politicians around the world are fond of saying that they are targeting the drug smugglers. However they have rarely tried to understand the chief smuggling problem, let alone provide sufficient resources to tackle it. The number of heroin and crack addicts is growing rapidly. The jails are full. How will this war be won? Greater international action will be needed to combat all kinds of smuggling. Firstly, customs services and other law enforcement agencies must be properly funded.

Secondly, the laws must be just and realistic. Thirdly, the root causes must be tackled. This means going further than destroying crops of opium poppies or sending in armed patrols against diamond smugglers. It means the

getting rid of the extreme inequalities which exist within a society and between one country and another.

lr

PAST AND PRESENT

-

the victim. ‘Crack’ addiction became a major problem in America and Europe during the 1980s.

It was poverty that made Cornish fishermen turn to smuggling in the eighteenth century. It is poverty that makes the Colombian farmer grow coca today, and makes poachers slaughter rhinoceroses in East Africa. Finally, it is poverty that causes crack addiction to spread like wildfire through the ghettoes of North America.

RIGHT AND WRONG The examples in this book have shown that smuggling can form part of very many activities. It is easy to condemn the drug barons who grow rich from other people’s misery, but within the same world of smuggling there are people who have risked their lives to help others escape from

WINNING THE WAR?

murderous governments. These people may have broken the laws of the land, but what if those laws are unjust? There are those who have smuggled arms in and out of countries as part of a war effort — but we can argue about whether they are fighting for freedom, or in order to impose their own form of tyranny on others. Some would say that armed violence is wrong in any circumstances, and that therefore all arms smuggling is immoral. Smuggling has often been the direct result of unjust or

badly planned taxes —

the American colonists in the

eighteenth century were proud to call themselves ‘free traders’, and the Scottish economist Adam Smith would have agreed with them. He was appointed as Commissioner for Customs in Scotland in 1778, and believed that the duties being charged at the time were the source of the smuggling problem. He described a smuggler as ‘a person who would have been ... an excellent citizen, had not the laws of his country made that a crime which nature never meant to be so.’

The smuggler has long been a hero of children’s adventure stories and romantic films. In reality, many of the smugglers in history were ruthless murderers who showed little pity for their victims.

Fe

rrr

PAST AND PRESENT

STORIES AND HARD FACTS If one travels to areas that were smugglers’ haunts in the eighteenth century, there are picturesque old buildings with names like ‘The Smuggler’s Inn’. One pretty part of the Cornish coast in south-west England is still known as Prussia Cove, after its most famous smuggler, John Carter, who was nicknamed, ‘the King of Prussia’. ‘Brandy for the Parson Baccy for the Clerk Laces for a lady, letters for a spy, Watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by!’ |

From ‘A Smuggler’s Song’, by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

Some of the old smuggling songs and tales seem exciting and even romantic. But were the smugglers really ‘gentlemen’? It is easy to forget that then, as now, many of them were ruthless and violent. What is more, smugglers today are dealing in more dangerous contraband than brandy and lace.

KEY DATES

KEY DATES AD 550 Smuggling secrets Silkworm eggs smuggled to the West from China, so that silk can be produced in Europe.

1203 The king’s customs King John appoints customs officials at main English ports.

1700s The ‘Golden Age’ of smuggling Smuggling increases as governments tax goods to pay for wars in Europe.

1773 Protest against customs controls Cargoes tipped from British merchant ships by angry Americans in The Boston Tea Party.

1839 Drug smuggling backed by Britain The Chinese government outlaws illegal trade in opium carried out by British merchants based in India. Result: revenge attacks on China by the British navy — known as the ‘opium wars’. 1850s Smuggled to freedom The ‘Underground Railroad’ network of safe resting places helps thousands of African Americans in their escape from slavery in the southern states to the free northern states and Canada.

1911 An art treasure goes missing Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of the Mona Lisa is stolen from Paris and successfully smuggled across the border into Italy.

Pe

1920s Prohibition In America the sale of alcohol is banned, and widespread smuggling of illegal drinks results.

1921 International drug smuggling Police in New York discover cocaine smuggled from Germany in belts.

1961 - 1989 Crossing the wall The Berlin Wall is built, to keep East and West apart. While some Easteners are successfully smuggled through the checkpoints, others are shot down in mid-escape by the East German police. 1970s War on drugs International drug smuggling now declared a serious problem. Major operations mounted by police in Europe and North America. 1986 Death in a suitcase An attempt to geta bomb on board a national airline is uncovered at London airport. One of a number of planned terrorists attacks using smuggled weapons.

1989 Operation Yellowbird Students flee from China where they are to be arrested or killed for demonstrating for greater freedom. They are smuggled to safety in neighbouring Hong Kong. 1992 Simplifying the system The European ‘single market’ means that duties between most European countries are no longer charged.

err,

PAST AND PRESENT

GLOSSARY bill of lading A receipt given by a carrier which gives exact details of the freight to be transported. blockade When armed forces prevent free movement to or from a port or airport.

bootlegger This American word for a smuggler dates from 1889. It came from the habit of concealing illegal goods in cowboy boots. During the Prohibition, bootleggers smuggled illegal alcohol into the United States. cartel An organization made up of independent business people or criminals, who come together to control a market in their own interest. contraband Contra means ‘against’ and bando means a ‘decree’. Contraband means goods that are transported in contravention of a decree. They are prohibited by law.

cutter A fast, armed sailing ship used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to attack smugglers and pirates. Modern cutters, with motor engines, are used by coastguards today. drug baron A criminal who makes a fortune by organizing the smuggling of drugs on a large scale.

duties Taxes charged on goods, sometimes called excise duties. See also customs duties.

embargo A government order forbidding trade with another nation. free trade International trade which is free from the customs duties or other restrictions.

immoral Something which offends most people’s values of acceptable behaviour. industrial secrets Details of a

manufacturing process which are not courier Someone who is hired personally to smuggle contraband, such as diamonds or drugs, over a border.

customs duties Taxes charged by a government on imported or exported goods. A customs officer is an official appointed to collect taxes on imported and exported goods and to prevent the movement of prohibited items. A customs post is a barrier or hall at a port, airport or border crossing, designed for the control of imported or exported goods. A customs union is an agreement which removes trading barriers between

a group of countries.

released to rival firms or to other nations.

informer Someone who tells the authorities about people engaged in criminal activities. Some informers may be paid by the police, or by the government, depending on the information they have. owlers A word for smugglers, used to describe those who illegally exported sheep and wool from England in the

Middle Ages.

GLOSSARY

pornographic Published or filmed material which is considered indecent or immoral. Such material is a prohibited import in many countries.

preventive officer A government official employed to prevent smuggling. Anti-smuggling operations are known as ‘prevention’. quarantine Enforced separation of an individual person or animal from others over an agreed period, to prevent the spread of disease. smuggling The illegal movement of goods, people, information or animals, normally across a border or boundary.

street value The price paid for drugs by the people who use them.

tariff An official register of customs duties payable. treason A serious crime carried out

against the state or ruler of a country. undercover agent A law enforcement agent, such asa police officer, who works in plain clothes and assumes a false identity, in order to find out what is going on within a criminal organization, or in an enemy country.

warlord The leader of a private army which seizes control of territory, sometimes in order to traffic in drugs or arms.

PAST AND PRESENT

INDEX amphetamines 26 blockades 12, 46 bootleggers 15, 16, 46

opium 13, 14, 24, 26, 27, 41 owlers 11, 46

Britain 11, 12, 13, 14, 26, 32, 40, 43, 44, 45

Panama 30 preventive officers 9, 12, 13, 47 prohibition 16, 45

cartels 29, 30, 39

quarantine 34, 47

Boston Tea Party 11, 45

China 10, 13, 14, 37, 45 coastguards 39 cocaine 7, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 38, 45 containers 17, 19 contraband 6, 7, 8, 11,12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20,21, 22, M3 Ts IAS, 3-5 MONE couriers 30, 46 crack 26, 42 customs services 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 26, 27, 40, 41, 45, 46 customs unions 19, 46 cutters 12, 46 drug barons 28, 30, 41, 46

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) 39, 41 duties 6, 10, 11, 12, 18, 45, 46 ecstasy 26 embargoes 8, 46

FBI 31, 32 France 11, 12, 22, 32 free trade 11, 46 Germany 15, 16, 45 Golden Triangle 26, 29

hashish 25, 28

heroin 24, 26, 29, 40, 41 Hong Kong 16, 27, 29, 37, 45 informers 39, 46 Interpol 39

Italy 22, 39

Romans 10

Servizio Centrale Antidroga (SCA) 39 Sierra Leone 22 smuggling alcohol6, 12, 15, 16, 18,45 animals 6, 8, 11, 20, 33, 34, 35 VEE lo Wee oo ONS books 6, 8, 36 diamonds 6, 7, 20, 22, 41

drugs 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 24-30, 39, 40, 41, 45 gold 7, 20, 21 industrial secrets 7, 22, 46

ivory 35, 36 lace 6, 12 military secrets 8, 14 money 20 people 8, 10, 14, 15, 16, 45 plants 6, 32 pornography 36, 47 silk 6, 10, 45 fealos les tobacco 11, 12 videos 6, 8, 36 watches 18 weapons and explosives 6, 8, 14, 31, 32, 40, 43,

45 sniffer dogs 40 South America 7, 26, 28, 29, 38, 39 Soviet Union 16, 22, 36 spies 8, 15 tariffs 19, 47 Thailand 24 treason 11, 47 Triads 29 Troy 10

Kenya 36

eS D> Mafia 29 marijuana 7, 25 navies 12, 13, 14, 39

undercover agents 39, 47 United States of America 11, 14, 16, 22, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 36, 39, 41, 45 Zaire 35

48

:

{

...90Cial issues of today set in the context of history...

This new attractive series sets events and issues we

think of as modern or contemporary in a historical context, comparing our knowledge today with the significance they have acquired over many years. Documentary evidence as well as photographs and illustrations enliven the well-researched text. Titles in the series include:

CENSORSHIP REFUGEES KIDNAPPING TERRORISM DISCRIMINATION SMUGGLING RIOTS HOMELESSNESS

43100668 7 43100666 0 431006636 43100664 4 43100667 9 43100665 2 43106590 X 43106591 8