Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Florencia Ucha, in Oct. 2009
Smuggling refers to the illegal traffic of goods without paying the relevant customs duties typified by law. Although also, smuggling refers to the production and trade of those goods considered by the local authorities as illegal, such as prohibited drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin, among other
An ancient practice
Smuggling is one of the oldest human practices, which of course, over the years and with the evolutions that occur. observed in some aspects and fields, it was changing and evolving also towards other levels, but never He disappeared. With other forms and aspects, smuggling turns out to be one of the most common illegal activities and through which many manage to enrich themselves to unsuspected and fantastic limits.
Factors that contribute to triggering it
Among the main causes for which the aforementioned illegal activity has developed, is developing and will surely continue to be developed are: include the following: corruption of officials, sale of public offices, irregularities at the request of communications, the obsolete nature and contradictory of some commercial laws, the negligence of some governments and monarchs, unfavorable situations at the behest of commerce foreign, the increase in power of local elites and the most recurrent, the difference in rates or tariffs between the countries among which the smuggling.
Generally, most of the merchandise or merchandise that comes from contraband, not having the required legal origin, they must be traded through what is called the black market or clandestine.
A threat to the law, health and economic development
Smuggling is a concrete threat to the law, to the regulations, because clearly almost all legislation to date penalizes it, but it can also be a tremendous and very serious affront to the life and health of people, especially when the object of contraband is medicinal products intended for consumption of people to improve their health.
Because of course, the illegal drug trade will not have the corresponding control of the relevant authorities regarding its quality and of their expiration, then, many times medicines that are expired or that do not have the characteristics indicated are traded and this will of course entail serious problems for final consumers of the same who will receive medicines that are considered good and in reality may not be because they do not have the measures from safety corresponding certifying it.
In addition to the complications that it can cause against people's health, such as if they are marketed outside the legal drug circuit, smuggling also turns out to be a serious problem at the behest of proper economic development of a Nation, because this practice will only harm the legal industry of a country, which obviously will not be able to compete many times against what the black market, the product of smuggling, offers, almost always at a minor cost.
Undoubtedly, smuggling generates a competence very uneven with the official market, because of course, they pay tariffs, taxes, according to what the legislation corresponding fixed, while smuggling as such does not and that allows them to have more margins and even if they offer the good at a lower value, they continue to obtain good profits.
Piracy and smuggling
Piracy, which is a hyper-ancient practice that consisted of raiding ships to capture their goods and then sell them, has favored the spread of contraband throughout the world. Pirates, as the navigator who carried out this act of pillage is popularly called, have been the kings of smuggling for many years in which they dominated the scene.
Since the most remote antiquity this practice has existed, however, the English pirates have been the most outstanding for the expertise that they have known how to demonstrate in the action of piracy. The control of the waters was undoubtedly his great advantage.