Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling: Lessons from the Inside [Paperback]

Scott H. Decker (Author), Margaret Townsend Chapman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2008

Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling examines the organizational structures of drug smuggling from Colombia to the US.  Career drug smugglers describe a series of often disconnected networks that enable smugglers to best organize their business in a way that will minimize the risks of apprhension and maximize profits. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most comprehensive study of drug smuggling and drug smugglers I have seen." Paul Cromwell "[T]his book is informative, well written and interesting... The detail is rich and informative... A very interesting read on a topic about which conclusive information is difficult to find. Summing Up: Highly recommended." CHOICE, December 2008 "[A]n informative account about cocaine and marijuana smugglers incarcerated in U.S. penitentiaries... The book provides a fascinating overview of dynamics associated with cocaine and marijuana smuggling and of the challenges facing smugglers. The authors gained valuable information with respect to the sociology of the drug smugglers' worlds, and also about the perceptions of risk. They also gained insight with respect to current U.S. drug strategy, which suggests that current strategies appear out of sync with realities. The book makes a significant contribution to the field of criminology as well as social work as the profession strives to enhance its knowledge of the ecology of drug abuse and to develop its expertise in the area of substance abuse. Social works as a profession might be well served to draw on the methodological lessons and the knowledge of scholars such as Decker and Chapman." Sociology and Social Welfare, June 2009

Book Description

Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling features interviews with 34 convicted drug smugglers -- most of them once major operators -- detailing exactly how drugs are smuggled into the U.S. from Latin America.  These sources provide tangible evidence of the risks, rewards, and organization of international drug smuggling.

Quoting frequently from their interviews, Decker and Chapman explain how individuals are recruited into smuggling, why they stay in it, and how their roles change over time.  They describe the specific strategies their interviewees employed to bring drugs into the country and how they previously escaped apprehension.  Over-all, the authors find that drug smuggling is organized in a series of networks which are usually unconnected.

This extraordinarily informative book will be of particular interest to law enforcement officials and policymakers, but it will appeal to anyone who wants to know how the drug business actually works.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (January 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592136435
• ISBN-13: 978-1592136438
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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