Additionally, an effective interdiction program will, among other things, raise the probability that a courier is arrested, thereby increasing the price smugglers have to pay to those who undertake the task. These higher fees raise smugglers' costs of doing business and thus the price they must charge their customers, the importers. Finally, the increased costs lead to a higher retail price and serve to lower consumption of the drug.
At one time it was thought that interdiction could impose a physical limit on the quantity of drugs available in this country. With a fixed supply available in the producing nations, each kilogram seized on its way to the United States would be one less kilogram available for consumption here. However, this has not proven to be the case. It is now generally accepted that production is expandable and that increased seizures can be compensated for with increases in production, although farmers may have to receive higher prices to provide greater production.
A second, more modest, general goal is to increase the difficulty of smuggling itself and to provide suitable punishment. Smugglers, or at least theprincipals in smuggling organizations, are among the most highly rewarded participants in the drug trades.
This is a free page. This page contains 194 words. This
article contains 2,195 words (approx. 7 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Drug Interdiction Access Pass.
