Pubdate: Fri, 10 Feb 2006
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2006 The Miami Herald
Contact:  http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: Steven Dudley
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

MORE 'MULES' NOW CARRYING DRUGS

Traffickers Are Using More And More Human 'Mules' To Transport Drugs

BOGOTA - While news that drug traffickers used puppies to transport 
drugs was shocking, the number of human "mules" may be rising, 
according to statistics from the Colombian police and an analyst at 
the University of Miami.

Traffickers have long employed creative methods for transporting 
drugs. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration revealed 
recently that a heroin ring used dogs to ship its product to the United States.

But Colombian police said it had captured 143 "mules" in 2004 and 189 
in 2005, suggesting the increased reliance of traffickers on humans 
to transport their drugs. All of these "mules" were trafficking drugs 
inside their bodies.

According to the DEA, Colombian authorities captured an average of 
198 people in Colombia between 2002 and 2004 with drugs inside their 
stomachs, taped to their bodies, or lined to their luggage or clothes.

Reliable statistics are hard to find, but Professor Bruce Bagley of 
the University of Miami, who has been following drug trafficking 
trends for years, says that heroin traffickers use human "mules" to 
send about half of their product to the United States. He estimates 
that between 12 and 15 "mules" travel to the United States per month 
with heroin.

"I think human mules are coming back into fashion in part because the 
heroin trade implies reduced volume for increased profit," he said.

Heroin, which comes from opium poppy plant, is trafficked as a powder 
and is consumed in smaller doses.

Bagley believes that between 20 and 25 percent of all cocaine may be 
trafficked via "mules," a smaller amount than heroin because of the 
volumes involved.

"Mules" are a cheap and efficient means to send drugs. Traffickers 
often take advantage of cash strapped families, abandoned mothers, 
or, as was illustrated in the movie Maria Full of Grace, naive 
teenagers and young adults.

"Mules" who are captured face long jail sentences due to mandatory 
minimum sentences imposed in the United States. They also expose 
themselves to life-threatening complications if the containers with 
the drugs rupture inside their bodies. "Human traffickers are cost 
efficient and disposable," Bagley said.

Traffickers also employ Ecuadoreans, Haitians, and Jamaicans, among 
others, to ship their product abroad, Bagley said. He added that 
traffickers often coerce people into trafficking the drugs, but the 
majority of "mules" do the work for money.

Colombia is the world's leading exporter of cocaine and the leading 
supplier of heroin to the eastern seaboard of the United States, 
according to the DEA.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman