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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Bad Decisions



I have been watching a series by National Geographic that recreates the consequences of bad decisions taken by individuals. The individuals themselves usually relate the stories, so we can say that they are lucky to have survived their own stupidity to talk about it.

It never fails to amaze me that we do things that we realize at the time are stupid and harmful to ourselves, but we do them anyway. I have done my fair share of stupid things, (nothing actually illegal) and as I view such stories I have to say I’m very glad it wasn’t me who was the subject of the presentation.

Usually the events involve the police, customs, or rescue services, or all of the above. I am moved to write this as I hope it might help some young person. The latest story involved a young man in Miami (USA) who fell in love with a cute young girl of seventeen who said that she was married and the victim of an abusive husband. She approached our young man in a tearful state bearing a cut lip, saying that her husband had beaten her. She was never going to go back to him, but she had no idea where she was going to stay.

Our hero came to the rescue by offering to let her stay with him. It developed that she was a cocaine addict who always had enough for herself and a friend or two. (Clue No. 1.)

He fell madly in love with her and eventually she said that she had been made an offer to fly to Mexico to bring back cocaine for a price, but she needed someone to come with her to watch her back. He said no way, but eventually he agreed with the stipulation that he will not carry any drugs himself.

Once they arrived they were met by their contacts who restricted their movements and ensured that they were dependent on their hosts for money and accommodation. Then, in a surprise move the hosts said that they wanted the girl to leave a couple of days ahead of him to limit suspicion. (Clue No. 2.)

Along the way she was seen to speak with certain people with more familiarity than that of complete strangers, and that did puzzle him a bit. (Clue No. 3.)

She left but didn’t call him when she got back to the United States. The drug dealers suddenly came to his room in a very angry mood demanding to know where she was. They say that she took off without the drugs, so he will have to take the drugs himself. He very reluctantly does so, and the last security officer he had to pass discovered that he was carrying contraband and he was arrested.

I have worked as a customs agent with the specific task of busting drug runners. I want to offer a bit of advice to any person who might be thinking about doing something as stupid as smuggling drugs.

“The thing that you are now getting around to thinking of doing is something that professional drugs agents have been stopping for a long time.”

In the case of the young man in our story, he was set-up from the start. The girl was paid to recruit naive young men into doing her bidding through getting them to fall in love with her. He should have paid attention to the fact that she always had a stock of cocaine. Where did it come from? How did she afford it?
Based on that fact alone he needed to shake her free. She was trouble with a capital “T”.

He resisted going to Mexico to take part in a smuggling operation because he knew it was a crazy and self-destructive thing to do. So, why did he do it?

He should have paid particular attention to the people whom she had out of earshot conversations with in a familiar manner. Although she said that she had never done anything like that which they were engaged in, she clearly had travelled this route before.

A person who agrees to take drugs through customs is called a mule. Another name for a mule is an ass, a name that is well deserved. I will not betray my oath of office by divulging the specifics of a custom officer’s training, but here are some common sense thoughts. An experienced customs officer can spot a mule from the moment he steps into the airport or dock, or crossing. The suspect might give himself/herself away by nerves and sweat, or be super cool. More than once people have been busted because the officer asked a question, received an answer, paused to consider what was said and asked again.

In the case we are considering our traveller did not even have a carry-on suitcase. The dealers taped six kilos of cocaine to his body so he even had some difficulty in walking. What’s more, they drove him to the airport and dropped him off in plain sight of the departure desks. From the moment he stepped out of that car he was a marked man.

He got through the previous security checks because officials were probably playing a little game with him. They let him get deep within the network so that he felt he could relax, and then they sprung their trap.

While telling his tale he completely missed two points: One, he said again and again, that if only the officer hadn’t actually touched him gently on his back to assist him along he would have gotten away with it. He seemed to think that the officer’s touch was accidental. It wasn’t! Trust me. Secondly, he refused to believe that his girlfriend had betrayed him. He said “There was no way she would have done such a thing!”

Oh Yeah?

He was sentenced to eight years in a very dirty Mexican prison. Anybody still think it might be worth it to smuggle drugs?

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael