A drug mule is a person who personally carries illegal drugs across a border on behalf of a smuggling organization, the specific application of the broader mule or courier role to narcotics smuggling. Organizers employ mules specifically to reduce their own risk of getting caught, and methods used include hiding the drugs inside vehicles or carried items, attaching them to the body, or concealing them inside the body itself, giving rise to slang terms such as Kinder Surprise and Easter egg for the swallowed or inserted packages. Small-scale operations, in which a single courier carries only one piece or a very small quantity, are sometimes known in the trade as the ant trade.
Facts
Typical PenaltyRussia: prison sentence of 10 to 20 years for drug couriers under Article 228 1 Jurisdiction VariationChina: charge after smuggling small quantities three times in one year, maximum three years in jail 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
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Sources
1. Mule (smuggling) - Wikipedia
Section: Russia
a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years
Section: China
A person shall be subject to a criminal charge if found smuggling small quantities of goods three times in one year. The maximum jail sentence is three years.
View the SourceLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: 21 U.S. Code § 952 - Importation of controlled substances
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law SchoolIn Group: Drug Trafficking, Smuggling and Distribution, Statute textQuote, In Group: Drug Trafficking, Smuggling and Distribution, Statute text
It shall be unlawful to import into the customs territory of the United States from any place outside thereof (but within the United States), or to import into the United States from any place outside thereof, any controlled substance in schedule I or II of subchapter I, or any narcotic drug in schedule III, IV, or V of subchapter I, or ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, except that
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