drug mules
Human contraband transporters
Drug mules are people who smuggle illegal drugs by carrying them on or inside their bodies, typically across international borders.
The term evokes the pack animal—mules transport cargo for others, bearing the risk while handlers profit.
Drug mules often swallow drug-filled packets or conceal them in body cavities: Customs officers detained three suspected drug mules at the airport.
- border patrolsTeams monitoring national boundaries
- arrestsLawful detentions by police
- coercionPressured compliance through threats
- narcoticsDrugs inducing sleep, numbness
- customs inspectionsOfficial review of imports
swallowers · exploitation · imprisonment · life sentence · cartel · smuggling routes · poverty · organized crime · criminal networks · Latin America · black market · economic inequality · extradition · human trafficking · border crossings · plea bargains · money laundering · syndicate
drug mulesdrug lords
Criminal trafficking kingpins
narcotraffickers · drug barons · distributors · wholesalers · crime bosses