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Mules
Althoughthetopmeninsmugglingbusinessmustworktogether, mostofasyndicate'ssmallfry, especiallythemules, knowonlytheirimmediatecontacts. Ifcaughtthereislittletheycangiveaway.
Amuleprobablywillnotevenknowthenameofthepersonwhogiveshimhisinstructions, norhowtogetintouchwithhim. Usuallyheevendoesnotknowthepersontowhomhehastomakedelivery.
Hewillbetoldjusttosittightinacertainhotelorbaruntilsomeonecontactshim. Inthiswayifheisblown, comingthroughairportcustomshecannotunwittinglyleadagentstothenextlinkinthechain.
Allthepersonsatthereceivingenddoistohangaroundtheairportamongthewaitingcrowd, andseethatthemulecomesthroughsafely. Ifhedoesnot, heisdimplywrittenoffasaloss.
Tomakeidentificationofmuleseasier, severalsyndicateshavedevisedtheirown "clubties" sothatamulewearingonecanimmediatelybepickedout.
Mulesoftenreceivecarefultrainingbeforeembarkingontheirfirstjourney. OneBeirutorganization, forexample, usesaroomwiththreeairlineseatsinit. Therethetraineemulessitforhoursonendwearingweightedsmugglingvestsbeneaththeirclothes, sothattheybecomeaccustomedtostandingupafteralongflightinanaturalway, andwithoutrevealingwhattheyarecarrying.
AnoutfitinBrusselsmaintainedacomfortableapartmentwherethemulescouldrelaxandgetafirmgriponthemselvesonthenightbeforetheirfirstjourney; theywerehelpedtodressbeforesettingoutfortheairportinthemorning. Moreoftenthannotacourierwillnotknowpreciselywhereheisgoingorwhatflightnumberisuntilheisactuallyhandedhisticketsattheairport.
Thispreventsthecarelessboastinsomebarortoagirlfriendthenightbefore.
Mulesoccasionallyrunoffwiththegoodstokeeptheprofitthemselves. Asinsuranceagainstthis, asyndicateoftensendsahigh-uponthesameplanetokeepawaryeyeoncouriers, particularlynewones. Eventhenthingscangobadlywrong. OneinternationalcurrencysmugglerwhowashavingtroublegettingmoneyoutofBritainwasofferedhelpbyagroupofmenwhosaidtheywereinapositionto "fixthing"一forafeeofcourse. Foolishly, thesmuggleragreedtoaccepttheirhelp.
WhenhegottoLondon'sHeathrowAirport, hehandedovertooneofthemenablacksuitcasecontainingnearly $90,000 incash, destinedforFrankfurt. Justtokeepaneyeonthings, thesmugglerwentalongonthesameplane. WhentheylandedatFrankfurthewashandedbackhissuitcase.
Hebeatastraightpathtothemen'stoilet, openedthecase, andfoundonlyoldclothes. Thecourierhadswitchedsuitcaseenroute, butthesmugglercouldhardlyruntothepoliceandcomplainthat "