Bell work:

Attempt the multiple choice questions on the sheet

smuggling

LESSON OBJECTIVE:To be able to explain why the Bloody Code was unable to stamp out the crime of smuggling.

TASK:

A Customs Officer’s Report on the difficulties of dealing with smuggling in the 18th century.

A Customs Officer

Official Report into the crime of

Smuggling(1748)

Import Tax = 119%

SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE

Drug smuggling is a serious problem facing our society today. So obviously smuggling is not a new crime, but where are the similarities and differences?

Taxes on tea remained high until 1784 when it was reduced by the Commutation Act to counter smuggling into the UK

The Overseas threat todayIllegal drug manufacture of heroin and cocaine is almost unheard of in the UK.

Most of the drugs taken by British users come from thousands of miles away on different continents. They are shipped into our country by sophisticated chains of international criminals. For instance, the majority of heroin sold in the UK started life as opium poppies in south west Asia, in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is processed and moved to Turkey, before being shuttled to Britain through Europe.

Cocaine is similar. Its origins are more likely to be in South America. A great deal is routed through the Caribbean, stockpiled in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and the Netherlands before making it into the hands of British dealers.

Smugglers and their techniquesTraffickers try a huge variety of scams to get past Customs officers. We routinely seize drugs that have been:

•swallowed or stuffed into a body cavity •hidden on a person •packed into someone’s luggage or belongings •stashed in a car, boat or aeroplane •hidden in seemingly legitimate freight

Drugs in condoms

Guns and violence

Some drugs gangs use the threat of extreme violence to protect their lucrative cargo. It’s not just detection which threatens their shipments, but theft by rival criminals.

A kilo of heroin costs less than £1,000 in Pakistan but on British streets it is worth more than 75 times as much. This potential profit has drawn major organised crime syndicates to drug smuggling - the Mafia and Jamaican Yardies are known to be involved.

But trafficking also carries massive risks, including some of the most severe international legal penalties. This means that some drug traffickers are violent and carry guns. It means our officers - who are unarmed - have to work closely with armed police specialists to stop these potentially ruthless criminals.

Change Continuity

1) How much has smuggling changed since the 18th century?