Transcript Modern Drug Smuggling - Crime and Punishment through time

smuggling
Bell work:
Attempt the multiple choice questions on the sheet
LESSON OBJECTIVE:
To be able to explain why the Bloody Code was unable to
stamp out the crime of smuggling.
TASK:
A Customs Officer’s
Report on the
difficulties of dealing
with smuggling in the
18th century.
A Customs Officer
Official Report
into the crime of
Smuggling
(1748)
Import Tax = 119%
SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE
Drug smuggling is a
serious problem
facing our society
today. So obviously
smuggling is not a
new crime, but
where are the
similarities and
differences?
Taxes on tea remained high until 1784 when it was reduced
by the Commutation Act to counter smuggling into the UK
The Overseas threat today
Illegal drug manufacture of heroin and cocaine is almost
unheard of in the UK.
Most of the drugs taken by British users come from
thousands of miles away on different continents. They are
shipped into our country by sophisticated chains of
international criminals. For instance, the majority of heroin
sold in the UK started life as opium poppies in south west
Asia, in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It is processed and moved to Turkey, before being shuttled to
Britain through Europe.
Cocaine is similar. Its origins are more likely to be in South
America. A great deal is routed through the Caribbean,
stockpiled in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and the
Netherlands before making it into the hands of British
dealers.
Smugglers and their techniques
Traffickers try a huge variety of scams to get past Customs
officers. We routinely seize drugs that have been:
•swallowed or stuffed into a body cavity
•hidden on a person
•packed into someone’s luggage or belongings
•stashed in a car, boat or aeroplane
•hidden in seemingly legitimate freight
Drugs in condoms
Guns and violence
Some drugs gangs use the threat of extreme violence to
protect their lucrative cargo. It’s not just detection which
threatens their shipments, but theft by rival criminals.
A kilo of heroin costs less than £1,000 in Pakistan but on
British streets it is worth more than 75 times as much.
This potential profit has drawn major organised crime
syndicates to drug smuggling - the Mafia and Jamaican
Yardies are known to be involved.
But trafficking also carries massive risks, including some of
the most severe international legal penalties.
This means that some drug traffickers are violent and carry
guns. It means our officers - who are unarmed - have to
work closely with armed police specialists to stop these
potentially ruthless criminals.
Change
Continuity
1) How much has smuggling changed since the 18th century?