Difference Between Smuggling and Trafficking

No matter which part of the world you travel to, you are bound to find the ugly and undesirable presence of crime there. Governments and law enforcement bodies are working round the clock to put an end to criminal activities, but their efforts have not entirely been successful.

Two of the many crimes that have become extremely common in modern times are smuggling and trafficking. Both the crimes involve transportation of goods and humans from one place to another in an illegal manner and both of them are equally condemned in every corner of the world. Yet, not a single government has been able to put an end to them.

Since smuggling and trafficking are so similar in nature, a lot of people end up confusing the two to be one and the same thing. That, however, is not the case, which is why even the law deals with the two crimes differently.

One of the biggest differences between smuggling and trafficking is that the former is generally done against the state and government, whereas the latter is generally done against a certain person. This basically means that the victim in smuggling is the state, whereas the victim in trafficking, particularly human trafficking is the person or people who are transported from one place to another.

The thing that makes trafficking a more heinous crime than smuggling is the fact that it is done without the consent of the person that is being transported, where the latter normally involves the consent of the person getting affected by it.

Another thing that sets trafficking apart from smuggling is that the person trafficking goods of humans does not lose possession of the trafficked goods completely after transporting them from one place to another and continues to get exploited on frequent basis even after the illegal transportation is completed.

Instructions

  • 1

    Smuggling

    Smuggling is defined as an illegal transportation of persons or goods such as drugs, weapons, mobile phones, etc. from one place to another. The goods or humans may be getting transported illegally into a prison, or from one country to another. Smugglers have various motivations for carrying out this illegal activity, the most common of which is money. Some people are involved in smuggling to help a friend or partner, while some do it just to show their power.

  • 2

    Trafficking

    Trafficking is the transportation of goods and humans, which is commonly known as human trafficking and regarded as the most common form of trafficking, from one place to other illegally. The activity violates both immigration laws and human rights.

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