Criminal Elements

Smuggled persons are sometimes at risk of becoming victims of other crimes. Aside from subjection to unsafe conditions in their journeys to their destinations, smuggled individuals may also be subject to physical or sexual abuse or placed in hostage-like conditions until their debts are paid off. Others might face exploitation or be forced to participate in other criminal activities during their journey as smuggled individuals. Within the United States, a deeper smuggling network hides drop houses where some immigrants are kept and often held against their will until they are able to pay off their smuggling fees. Smugglers in Mexico have been found to be more likely to be armed and violent. There have been cases when they have robbed and raped their customers and abandoning them before they reach the border.

The drug cartels have gotten more directly involved in people smuggling operations. They exploit individuals – seen as human cargo – and using them by loading up smuggled individuals with backpacks full of marijuana and using them over and over for drug sales. The repayment of such sizable smuggling debts can also involve drugs. Sometimes, the costs of the expensive journey are defrayed by having migrants serve as “mules”, carrying drugs into Mexico.

2. Smuggling can generate substantial profits for those involved, which in turn can fuel corruption and organized crime in countries traveled from, through, or to during the smuggling process.

12.

Errors in export-import documentation

Every exporter can recall a horror story related to problems with documentation. Of course, some problems may be unavoidable, but in too many cases it is the exporter who has not been punctual enough in providing the required documents.

Errors in documentation cost money. The first consequence of a mistake is a delay to the consignment which may be kept in a ware­house under customs control. Whenever the delay occurs, storage charges will become payable almost immediately, and they have a tendency to rise as the delay extends.

The storage charges have to be paid in full. The warehouse operator will simply refuse to release the goods until all charges have been settled. The customs warehouses are not meant for long-term storage. That is why most customs authorities exercise their power to seize goods which have not been cleared through customs within a certain period.

The other danger of delay is the loss of confidence by the cus­tomer. Moreover, any delay in delivery will immediately lead to a deferment in settlement of the invoice, which will affect cash flow.

13.

The Customs warehousing procedure

The Customs warehousing procedure is a facility granted to those involved in external trade to place their goods temporarily in Customs warehouses, without the payment of duties and taxes and, at times, without the application of economic restrictions and prohibitions, until the manner in which the goods are to be disposed of is finally decided. Operations permitted in a Customs warehouse are those required to improve the packaging and marketable quality of the goods and to prepare them for shipment. Such operations include re-packing, sorting and grading, breaking bulk, grouping of packages, and operations intended to keep the goods in the same state.

The Customs warehousing procedure can fulfill a few functions:

1) it can be utilized to develop a country's entrepôt trade;

2) entrepôt trade operations provide employment opportunities;

3) the warehousing procedure can enable the country to earn foreign exchange;

4) exporters sometimes can use the warehousing facility to combine domestic goods with identical imported goods so that a single export order can be satisfied;

5) the warehousing procedure can assist manufacturers in processing goods for export.

An additional advantage is that an importer/exporter can keep his goods in the country until he can re-negotiate sales abroad on more favourable terms. This is particularly the case when persons using this warehousing facility import goods in bulk, at discounted prices, and re-export such goods in similar quantities at higher prices, thus making net foreign exchange gains.

Goods can be imported for storage in warehouses and re-exported in the same state without the payment of duties and taxes and normally without being subjected to import or export licensing requirements.

Firms import goods from their subsidiaries which are located abroad, or from establishments in other countries which produce or manufacture goods for them under contract. Thus, when domestic production falls short of targeted output, goods can, be, imported to meet contractual export obligations without incurring duty or other liabilities. This does not, however, apply in cases where the origin of goods is a consideration to satisfy quota or tariff requirements.

In some countries there are traders who, acting as agents for manufacturers who manufacture goods for export, consolidate import orders and import their consignments in bulk. Goods so imported are, subsequently released to manufacturers who operate under the inward processing procedure. These traders, who specialize in wholesale trade, are therefore able to import goods in bulk at the most favourable terms, which are not normally available to importers of smaller quantities. Such bulk importations are made possible only by taking advantage of the warehousing procedure. Consequently, such traders are in a position to offer their goods to manufacturers at prices lower than what they would get had they to import their consignments individually.

Payments are received for handling arid similar services rendered at these warehouses, and for other tertiary services provided, such as transport.

14.