City criminologist discusses harsh sentencing for drug mules in The Metro and The Mirror.
Two young British women were arrested in high-profile drug trafficking cases for acting as drug mules in the past two weeks.
Bella Culley, aged 18, was arrested in Georgia arriving from the United Arab Emirates with cannabis and various other narcotics in her luggage. 23-year-old Charlotte Lee was caught in Sri Lanka arriving from Thailand with cannabis in her luggage.
These are just two of the many exploited victims in the drug trade.
Dr Jennifer Fleetwood, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at City St George’s, University of London has been studying the role of women in drug trafficking.
She advocates for sentencing reform for drug trafficking offences, and her research has found the death penalty for those involved in trafficking disproportionately affects women.
Dr Fleetwood has acted as an expert witness in the Crown Court in England and Wales, and assisted the nonprofit human rights organisation Reprieve in international cases of British people facing the death penalty for drug trafficking offences.
Why young travellers are targeted by drug traffickers
While extensive media coverage might suggest an increase in women being exploited as mules in the drug trade, Dr Fleetwood argued that there’s not much evidence for this connection.
The women were most likely targeted as drug mules because their backgrounds might have made them seem less suspicious to border control authorities.
“Traffickers might look for people who travel a lot, have a passport that allows them to travel widely without a visa, and who might need money,” she said. “Obviously young backpackers fit the bill.”
Drug mules are often exploited and misled
Speaking to The Mirror, Dr Fleetwood explained that many drug mules are tricked into transporting different substances than they had initially agreed to. She said:
Should drug mules face harsh punishments?
Harsh sentences are not an effective preventative method for stopping people from becoming drug mules, according to Dr Fleetwood.
“Decades of research have shown that harsh punishments have had no impact on the availability of drugs or the harms they cause,” she explained.
Drug mules are only one small part in the equation, sitting at the bottom of the chain compared to drug lords in the trade.
Speaking to The Metro, Dr Fleetwood said: “The mules may be in a precarious financial position already, working in low-paid jobs, maybe in the illegal economy.”
She also raised the question of proportionate punishment, stating:
Byline: This article was written by Amandeep Chandan, Communications Assistant in City St George’s Press Office team.
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