Drug Smuggling in Body Cavities

Smuggling drugs in body cavities is the stuff of movies and urban legends. Countless movies, television shows, films and books have been created about this subject, and in many cases the subject matter is either glorified or made to appear comical. But while some audiences may find humor in the comical situations inserting and extracting a kilo of cocaine from a rectum, stomach cavity or vagina may entail, the fact of the matter is that the people who place these drugs in their bodies do so at grave risk to their own life. And because the consequences of getting caught smuggling drugs in this manner are so severe, understanding the phenomena is essential to preventing it. For thousands of years people have used body cavities to hide a large variety of items. One thousand years ago travelers would hide gold and other valuables in their rectums or other areas in order to avoid detection by tax authorities or thieves. Centuries ago people would hide travel and identification documents in body cavities to avoid detection and persecution. Today, the use of body cavities in smuggling operations is used almost exclusively by people transporting drugs. Drugs have been hidden in a variety of interesting – and dangerous – places in the human body. This includes large amounts of drugs in the rectum and colon, the vagina, the mouth, tucked in folds of fat, inserted into surgically created cavities and swallowed whole for transport in the stomach and gut. Many of these tactics are highly successful, with some authorities estimating that only a small percentage of all smugglers are caught. Still, the numbers that are caught are surprising considering the severe risks. According to the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, "Body packers may come to the emergency room with symptoms of intestinal obstruction, acute intoxication by drug leakage, or both. These life-threatening, and in the case of cocaine packets, highly lethal, events . . ." In addition to risking severe physical complications, coma and death, people who smuggle drugs n body cavities face stiff legal penalties. This is especially true considering that so many of these smugglers use this method to transport drugs internationally where such crimes are prosecuted aggressively and pose lengthy sentences. Airport and other public agency detection methods are extremely advanced. However, a great deal of the time it is the smuggler who actually turns themselves in. This is because the complications of smuggling drugs in body cavities often cause them to become ill or to become so anxious about getting caught or dying if something were to go wrong that they go to authorities for assistance. Many hospitals indicated that the instances of self-reporting smugglers are alarmingly high. But once stabilized by the hospital or urgent care facility, these smugglers are arrested and processed into the criminal justice system. Drug smuggling in body cavities is also common in prisons and jails all around the world. In fact, some prisoners earn more money that top executives of successful companies through the illicit trade of drugs in prison using smugglers. Additionally, people in drug addiction treatment programs often smuggle drugs into facilities in a body cavity in order to avoid detection. But because the risks are so severe, it's simply not worth it to smuggle drugs in a body cavity. The results can lead to death or lifetime imprisonment, and chances are likely that the amount of money earned from a smuggling event could never compare to the freedoms lost as a result of getting caught or hurt.

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