Customs Smuggling Crimes in the Context of Organized Crime

Abstract

Customs smuggling is considered a global criminal phenomenon that harms national economies. It is also a highly complex problem because of its negative effects, which distort the rules of legitimate competition and hinder development at several levels: social, cultural, health-related, and especially security-related. In the present era, it has also become intertwined with corruption-related crimes, such as organized crime.
In fact, customs smuggling has taken on characteristics that make it difficult to distinguish from business crimes, serious crimes, and high-risk crimes. It assumes organizational forms within the context of transnational economic and financial crime through networks and smugglers operating in various countries, working outside the scope of systems and laws, and exploiting the globalization of crime. As a result, its field of activity, with all its risks, has come to threaten and undermine the values and stability of states and to harm the fundamental interests of society.