200971 Illicit drugs and smuggling

Illicit drugs and smuggling
MARS Report 200971

Merchant ships are one of the preferred modes for the smuggling and transport of illegal narcotics, offering many concealment opportunities in the cargo and the many spaces on board. The very high value of drug shipments and the high profit margins have attracted major international criminal organisations and terrorist groups. Some merchant mariners are also being lured by drug traffickers as accomplices in this transport chain.

The discovery of drugs on board by maritime authorities put the master and the crew in a serious situation: and they can be jailed without bail or trial for an indefinite period, while in some countries, drug smuggling can result in the death penalty. The ship itself can be arrested or even impounded.
Illicit drugs and psychotropic substances can be smuggled on board the vessel in many ingenious ways, including: in cargo, or within transport units or packaging; in packages left on board by seemingly genuine personnel; in ship's stores; in the baggage of crew; and in a seafarer's personal effects.

Precautions
In addition to the security procedures appropriate to the security level in force in the ship's security plan (SSP), additional precautions should be applied in drug risk areas. For example, restricted areas on board ships such as bridge, engine room and steering room should be well guarded. Locking store rooms, cabins and internal access points, unused while in port, is an obvious precaution. The use and distribution of the ship's master keys should be controlled by the ship's security officer (SSO). The cabin portholes should be well secured from inside.
Smugglers consider direct sailings from countries of supply to countries of consumption extremely risky: recent trends suggest that they prefer roundabout and circuitous routes, using ports in countries which are not drug producers. Many ports in the Caribbean islands, Central and South America fall into this category.

Although shipping companies may participate in drug smuggling prevention initiatives, as a due diligence measure it is essential for the master and crew to be extremely vigilant against illicit drug smuggling.

– Editor's note: Readers are advised to also read MARS report 200747 where a drug smuggler, posing as a sea pilot, nearly succeeded in concealing drugs when the crew's attention was diverted.