The Art of Smuggling

*Uploader's two cents: The info contained within this document is invaluable; as a mixture of original
and compilatory information, you will be delighted to soak in the wealth of information contained
herein. However, we mustn't forget that just like us, our enemies evolve and react to this contextually
bound, decreasingly-relevant collection of counter-intelligence. Uncle Sam is decidedly adept at enacting
and propagating suppressive overt and covert misinformation bound to unjust law; don't assume the
rules will be the same tomorrow or the day after that. This isn't a foolproof guide nor is it [remotely]
complete. It is comprehensive, yes, but it must not be praised as anything more than words on the page.
Use it as an adjunct to (most importantly) your instincts, common sense, and unwavering adherence to
the code of absolute morality. Send out a prayer to all the misguided souls who think their duties to
arbitrary and archaic notions of justice are philosophically sound. Drug use and its propagation is a noble
act, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Fight the good fight bretherin.

Index

F.A.Q.

· Developmental Smuggling Model

· Routes Are Networks

· Transit Topologies

· Securing Drop Points

· Customs Mail Flags

· Packaging Drugs For Mail

· General Mail Info

· Mail Tracking: (Counter)fingerprinting Arms Race

· GPS Dead Drop Introduction

· Interception Technology
 · Reactions to Intercepted Mail

F.A.Q.

Q. OMG there is no way you can get drugs through the mail with out customs or the police finding
out!!!

A. The majority of drug mail is not intercepted. There is always a risk that it could be intercepted
though. We are researching and designing various interception detection systems to help counter the
risk of this. The probability of your mail being intercepted (if it is properly packaged) depend significantly
on your location and the location the product is being shipped from. Domestic packages are very rarely
intercepted. International packages are uncommonly-rarely intercepted, depending on your specific
country and the specific country the package is coming from. Some drugs (Weed) are more likely to be
intercepted than others (LSD). Also, there are tons of legal research chemicals that you could get if you
are afraid of risking an illegal order. So, you can still trip with out any of the legal risks. Please check the
laws in your area before ordering a research chemical if you are worried about ordering illegal
substances.

The Developmental Smuggling Model

Phase One

Move drugs mostly with in a single country

Move drugs primarily for personal use, and use of close friends, not primarily for profit

Mostly inexperienced smugglers

Very loose organizations of friends

High probability of being caught

 Bring small amounts of drugs into country, if any, often move drugs within nation borders

Small groups of friends, often pool their resources for bulk discounts

Members usually grew up together in the same geographic area, some of them may have moved to
new areas with out the specific goal of smuggling

Often are addicted to drugs

Very strong sense of loyalty to fellow members leads to low rates of cooperation with LE and less
snitching than phase II

Often see themselves as oppressed by society, hold the common belief and wish for all drugs to be
legalized

Extended period of time between drug runs

Inherently unstable over time, often busted as they are the primary phase targeted by law
enforcement

Often preyed upon by more experienced higher phase smugglers

Not likely to be oriented to any foreign countries traveled to in order to obtain drugs

Phase Two

Profit is more of a motivation, networks supplied are significantly larger and less close knit than phase
I networks

Have acquaintance level relationships with other smuggling networks and smugglers

Put strong emphasis on gaining larger networks and obtaining more and better sources for contraband

Put strong emphasis on gaining good reputation within their network

phase II networks frequently discuss trust issues among themselves and assure each other their
unwillingness to snitch, despite having high snitch rates

Have the potential to become phase III organizations if they continue to develop with out detection by
law enforcement

Organizations tend to be detected by law enforcement with in 3-5 years, with a mild risk of dissolving
in this time frame if they do not advance to phase III

Utilize rudimentary intelligence techniques, such as surveillance on ports of entry

 Utilize basic counter-profiling techniques, such as administration of anti-anxiety drugs to reduce
behavioral signs associated with nervousness

Sacrifice naive mules to divert attention: for example tricking phase I mules into smuggling insecurely
to divert attention while the true mules slip through

deal with dedicated phase III brokers but lack organization, funding and skill to work directly with
phase III networks

Begin to develop rudimentary specialized skills such as dedicated money launderers, intelligence and
counter intelligence, mules, etc

Begin to skillfully recruit new members rather than dealing fully with long time friends and associates

High demands are placed on reliability and reputation becomes very important to sustain contacts
with other phase II smugglers and networks

Sometimes are groups of close friends evolving from phase I, often are more loosely affiliated by being
members of the same gang or "lifestyle"

Often use legitimate employment to benefit smuggling (airline stewardesses, long haul truck drivers),
work smuggling route into business route

Often times create businesses for the purpose of smuggling drugs, or transform legitimate businesses
into drug smuggling businesses

Usually members are career criminals focusing on smuggling, rather than people with no other
criminal history who specialize in smuggling

Due to strong trust concerns members often are required to commit serious crimes not always
necessarily related to drug smuggling in order to gain trust

Regular shipments of drugs and drug runs, often following a pattern to minimize any potential dry time

Some phase II smugglers are independent contractors with no solid ties to any one trafficking
organization

More likely to be willing to resort to extreme violence with other groups and with each other to settle
disputes

Some phase II smugglers are likely to become combative with law enforcement ie: shoot outs,
attacking police officers, etc

Mild risk of being caught, most phase II organizations are identified and targeted by law enforcement
after three to five years of activity

Often have dedicated lawyers being paid in drug money

 Sometimes begin bribing low level officials

Focus on smuggling, but some phase II smugglers also sell at street level themselves

Often have troubled pasts with family issues and legal trouble

Likely use drugs but are not as likely to be addicted as phase I smugglers

Often have high school diplomas and some technical training and college but rarely have any college
degrees

Many phase II smugglers have military experience, although they often have some infractions on their
record for rule violations

Phase Three

use smuggling as primary source of income

extensive experience with smuggling

dynamic and flexible networks

Organization creates firmly held dedicated roles for members such as: pilots, intelligence and counter
intelligence, money launderers, etc

Phase III smugglers have often wanted to be smugglers for a long time, such as from child hood

Usually come from families where smuggling activity is encouraged or at least found to be acceptable

Typically phase III smugglers and networks are strictly business with very little personal interaction
between members and organizations

Often times are ruthless and willing to order assassinations to meet their needs

Most vulnerable to attack when leaders or others in positions of power leave and need to be replaced

Phase III smugglers often wish to generate large sums of money and then retire into legitimate
business

Have access to very large international distribution networks, do contracting with ethnic based phase
III producers to distribute products

phase III producers often have strong ties to a single country, handle a very specific type of contraband
and have strictly business interactions

Often work with multiple ethnic groups and handle the distribution of product from source to
customer and distribution of cash from customer to source

Sometimes phase III smugglers have legitimate corporations with offices in multiple countries

Use sophisticated intelligence and counterintelligence techniques to both protect the group from law
enforcement and to minimize lost product

Often subcontract 'operations' to multiple phase III specialty groups, including money laundering,
transportation, intel and counter intel, etc

Often have dedicated contacts with groups that professionally manage bribes of government officials

Use military grade technology and equipment to assist in smuggling

Vacuum seal shipments of drugs, often using science to determine the time it will take for the
substance in the vac bag to permeate the bag

Distribute transportation over large networks of mules moving smaller amounts (swarming), although
they are responsible for the largest amount of overall drugs brought into a country.

Very rarely move the drugs themselves but contract out to phase II and sometimes I via brokers,
although there are some phase III mules as well.

Have group logos, often putting them on shipments of drugs

Participate in intensive intelligence gathering on law enforcement agencies

It is not uncommon for phase III smugglers and networks to do independent contracting for legitimate
governments, utilizing black market skills for covert government operations

In depth knowledge of law enforcement techniques used against smugglers

A distinguishing hallmark of the Phase-III network is that there is discussion within the group about
what to do when it becomes apparent that the organization is under surveillance by law enforcement.
This is significantly different from phase I and II smugglers, who are unlikely to be aware they are under
government surveillance until they are arrested.

Have the lowest rate of drug addiction (and use), but they do likely have other addictions such as
gambling, prostitutes, etc

Typically have above average to superior IQs

 Frequently make use of forged documentation and stolen identities

sometimes have contacts in government agencies

Often have college degrees in business or political science, high ranking military careers or training in
intelligence and counter intelligence, although some merely advanced through the phases from phase I
to phase III and acquired their skills on the job

Are aware of law enforcement profiling techniques and smuggling models

Increase amounts of phase one and two smugglers in order to drain resources of law enforcement

Promote unsafe methods of smuggling to phase one and two smugglers in order to increase bust rates
and drain law enforcement resources

Actively promote false information in an attempt to create biased profiles from the perspective of law
enforcement

Specialize in a narrow range of contraband, often outsource from phase II and other phase III groups
to get different sorts

Very rarely busted by law enforcement, when individual members are busted very rarely snitch and
often vehemently deny everything

Routes are Networks

When contraband is moved over distance (from Alice to Bob) it takes a certain route to get to that
location. Routes are particularly important as the route a drug shipment takes has a large say in how
likely it is to be intercepted or not. Different countries have customs that operate at vastly different
efficiencies. Packages from some locations to other locations are flagged. This is largely country
dependent and a comprehensive list of countries that are good to ship from to other countries would
require extensive intelligence gathering and analysis and is outside of the scope of this website. Some
countries are notoriously hard to smuggle into or through, for example Australia is known for (allegedly)
checking 100% of inbound shipments for drugs and other contraband.
 Some countries are particularly known for outbound drug shipments, for example Columbia.
Shipments from these countries are likely to be scrutinized. Developing ideal trafficking routes is a
complex and dynamic task; as new routes are identified by authorities they must change to avoid
unacceptable levels of interception. Countries can be used to proxy drugs, perhaps shipments from
Aliceland are suspicious in Bobistan, but common to Carroleria. By shipping from Aliceland to Carroleria
and Carroleria to Bobistan interception rates can be drastically decreased.

Swarming product can drastically reduce the percentage of intercepted product. If Bob orders 1kg of
substance from Alice, instead of sending a 1KG shipment to Bob all at once Alice can break it up into ten
100 gram packages. Bob can open ten boxes with fake IDs (or better yet, Bob can have ten associates
located in his country open one box each, and pay them for getting parts of the shipment). Now a single
interception will not compromise the entire kilogram, rather 100 grams is the most that can be lost with
a single interception. There is no longer a single end point for the authorities to monitor, rather there are
ten. This greatly decreases risk of total interception and greatly increases potential costs of end point
surveillance. After the ten shipments of 100 grams make it into the target country they can be
recombined by Bob, perhaps through country internal shipments or dead drops. Bob would be
particularly smart to hire lower phase smugglers to do dead drop and mail box pick ups, Bob can use
technology to do surveillance on the pick ups so he can identify if one of his operatives is compromised
(more on this later). Bob does not even need to hold the drugs himself at any point, he can contract this
out to lower phase smugglers and only worry about picking up finances and dealing with potentially
malicious mules. Bob and Alice must carefully consider the risks of increasing shipment frequency (more
packages to make it through customs) with the benefits (less chance any of the ten will be compromised,
a single compromise is less of a problem, etc). If Bob contracts lower phase smugglers for pick ups and
selling and never touches the product himself, swarming has no real disadvantages for him. The new
benefits of Bitcoin make this method of smuggling particularly ideal. Bob is wise to invest in a large
amount of product from Alice, to be swarmed to many of his contacts through out a country or the
world. Now Bob only needs to worry about anonymously getting money, which is made easy by a
combination of Bitcoin and mixing. This gives us three primary roles in the organization: investor (pays
for product from producer or distributor to be swarmed through out his network), producer (produces
drugs for sale to Bob), distributor[to various degrees away from the producer] (picks up and sells drugs
for Bob in a localized area, for part of the profit).

Securing Drop Points

 Securing drop points involves creating a perimeter around them in an attempt to detect manned
surveillance. There are two scenarios; pick up teams and solo pick ups. Both have advantages and
disadvantages. The advantages of team pick ups include ability to do real time perimeter monitoring
during the pick up. Disadvantages include having a team know about you and the pick up in the first
place. Only very trusted people should be part of pick up teams with each other. Advantages of solo pick
ups are lack of required trust in a team. Disadvantages are inability to do real time perimeter monitoring.

Pick up surveillance teams can communicate with encrypted walkie talkies. The individual doing the
actual physical pick up may prefer an ear piece.

Google Earth or really any map can be used to determine the optimal positioning of a surveillance
team. If a drop is in the middle of various intersections, having eyes on the street can give an early alert
to the pick up agent if unfriendly vehicles approach. Guaranteed reaction times (time to flee after a
malicious entity is detected approaching) can be more or less assured if all possible routes of entry are
guarded.

Even if a pick up team is not possible or desired, counter-surveillance around drop area is suggested.
Look for people who seem to be doing surveillance. It is best to make a pick up when there is no other
person around for quite some area.

Customs Mail Flags

* No return address

* Restrictive markings (such as writing "Personal!" on the envelope)

* Misspelled words

* Poorly typed or written text

* Excessive postage

* Addressed to an incorrect title

* Sent from a foreign country

* Sealed with tape

* Emits a strange odor (Including masking agents such as coffee, perfume and fabric softener sheets)

* Lopsided, uneven, rigid, bulky or otherwise uneven weight distribution

* Oily stains, discolorations and crystallization's on packaging

* Packaging appears to be re-used

* Package looks generally poorly prepared for shipping

* addresses are hand written

* addresses contain misspelled information (such as names, streets or cities)

* Originate from a drug source state

* Are addressed as being sent from an individual to an individual

* Return address ZIP code does not match ZIP code of the post office the package is being sent from

* A fictitious return address is used

* List a sender or receiver name of a common type (Such as John Smith)

* Make use of names that are not connected to either address

* Package makes noise when shaken

* Redistribution of weight is felt when package is moved or tilted

 Packaging Drugs For Mail

Gloves should be worn during all stages of packaging. Latex gloves should not be used by
themselves, they are so thin that if any debris (including dust) gets on them, you will leave debris
impressions of your fingerprints on what you touch. Tight fitting gloves made out of cloth or some other
material should be utilized. During the stage of packaging where you come in contact with the
substance, latex gloves should be worn over the regular gloves. After the substance is vacuum sealed,
the latex 'over gloves' should be removed and disposed of before coming into contact with the outer
parts of the packaging, to avoid contaminating it with trace amounts of the substance. Substances can be
double or even triple vac sealed, with scrubs of the outer vac bag at each stage to reduce the chances of
residue contamination. It may be possible to further reduce a dogs ability to smell a package by vac
sealing the substance and the placing this bag into another vac seal bag filled with activated carbon and
vac sealing this. Keep in mind that activated carbon could substantially increase the weight of the
package and if it is an improvement over using just a vac bag or not remains to be determined.

After the substance is properly vacuum sealed it must be prepared for shipping. There are numerous
ways to disguise drug packages. The closer that a package looks to a standard envelope the less likely it is
to be seized. The goal is to blend into a crowd. Boxes are more likely to be intercepted than envelopes.
Breaking an order up into multiple smaller amounts that can fit into envelopes may be the best plan
even if it involves more packages going through the system.

Hairnets and long sleeved clothing should be worn during all stages of packaging to prevent hairs
and other forensic trace evidence from entering the package. Sealing should not be done with saliva for
the same reasons. Packages should not be sent from inside post offices but from random drop boxes
away from cameras and buildings with cameras. Some care should none the less be taken to disguise
facial features and identifying marks. Keep in mind that the total weight of a package sent via one of the
drop off boxes, at least in the United States, is 13 ounces or less.

If a shipment is so large that trojaning is required, there are some things to keep in mind. First of all,
it seems that customs may have lists of common products. If you make a product up and use it to
disguise drugs it may actually stick out. For example one seized shipment of a liquid drug was hidden in
bottles with the title 'gay lube oil'. The bottles were made to look like a legitimate product but the
smugglers would have probably been better off using a real product container, emptying it out then
filling it with the drugs, and repackaging it.
 For particularly large shipments of stable drugs it may be best to create pottery (or similar items)
out of the product and a binding material. Once the product arrives the dishes can be smashed to
powder and the intended substance extracted. This is particularly useful for drugs that dogs are not
trained to smell, coke smugglers have done it before as well but its use is limited in this case as a dog can
hit on it still.

General Mail Info

When deciding what mail company to ship with there are some things to keep in mind. Within the
USA, USPS delivers over 100 billion pieces of standard mail, 95 billion pieces of first class mail , 1 billion
packages, 900 million pieces of priority mail, and 54 million pieces of express mail a year. Internationally
USPS delivers 830 million pieces of mail a year. Including periodicals and other special mailings, USPS
handles approximately 213 billion pieces of mail a year total. FedEx handles slightly under two billion
pieces of mail total per year, UPS handles around 5.3 billion a year. USPS clearly handles vastly more mail
than FedEx or UPS, and this means that your package has a larger crowd to blend into. If every single
person in the USA inspected a piece of USPS mail every single day, under half the daily volume of USPS
mail would be inspected.

Within USA, USPS needs a warrant to open your mail if it is sent first class. UPS and FedEx do not
require a warrant to open and inspect your packages. Although law enforcement technically needs a
warrant to inspect UPS or FedEx packages, in practice they do not as UPS and FedEx will in all cases
cooperate with LE. The requirement of a warrant to open your packages reduces the chances that your
package will be intercepted. Perhaps a judge doesn't think they have enough evidence to open your
package. Perhaps someone who would otherwise open a package on a whim will not open your package
because they don't feel like going through the steps of getting a warrant and are going to look for
another package they find more likely to have contraband in it. When a package is going through
customs, warrants are not be required.

The best option for recipients is to use PO boxes or PMBs obtained with fake identification. Another
excellent option is to have packages sent to abandoned buildings or houses. The same security methods
should be applied as when using a fraudulently obtained mail box. When possible use in state
identification. Mom and Pop box companies often have poor security compared to franchises, for
example they are less likely to require photocopies of the ID and also are less likely to have a camera
system, or if they do have a camera system it is probably very poor quality as compared to a big franchise
company. Recipients using PO/PM boxes should wait for a lengthy yet random period of time after the
package arrives to attempt retrieval. This waiting period decreases the chances of being apprehended
and potentially wastes law enforcement resources, prolonged manned surveillance is very expensive.

If you are worried about a photocopy of you ID being taken when you open a box, spray hair spray
over the face of the card. This will not catch the human eye but will cause the photocopy to be distorted
and poor quality. I also suggest if you get a fake ID that you edit your picture slightly in photoshop,
slightly change the distance between your eyes and nose. This will prevent someone with a photocopy of
your fake ID from finding you by running through the legitimate drivers license database with facial
recognition technology.

Disguising efforts should be utilized when retrieving packages (wearing gloves or covering finger tips
with liquid band-aid, is a requirement) and test runs should also be attempted. See the 'chapter' on
secure drop points for more information on how to secure a pick up.

Do not park near the box place you are using. At the very least park a block away and walk to it. A
better plan is to call a taxi from a tracfone and have them pick you up away from where you live and
drop you off a block away from your box. After you retrieve your package, put it in an anti static bag
immediately upon leaving the store. The anti static bag acts as a Faraday cage (make sure the entire
package is inside), and will prevent a homing signal from revealing your location while the packaging is
contained. Backpacks fully lined with tinfoil may work as well. Always test the solution by trying to call a
cell phone contained in it.

After the package has been retrieved and measures against homing signals have been taken, walk to
a fast food restaurant or some such thing, and take the package into the rest room area. Go through the
packaging and check it for bugs as quickly as possible. Online spy shops have cheap bug scanners that
can detect cheap bugs that send out homing signals. Destroy the packaging to the best of your ability
and dispose of it (perhaps down the toilet). Now call for a second taxi to pick you up and drop you off a
distance away from your place of living, and walk back home. It would help to decide the routes you
want to take, and the packaging disposal place you want to use, ahead of time.

If a recipient must have a package delivered to a place connected with them, they should ensure
said place is clean between shipments. Clean houses of friends can also be used. Upon receiving a
package to a place with connections to the recipient, they should not open it but should write return to
sender on it. After several days, then the package is safe to be opened. Recipient should never select to
have shipping methods which require a package to be signed for.
 No matter where you get packages sent, get a feel for the place. Learn to recognize the people that
work at your box place. Remember what your mail man looks like. Controlled deliveries are not handled
by your traditional mail man, and if a random guy in a mail man uniform asks you to sign something, you
should use your head (never sign). Similarly, if a friendly neighbor or dude down the street who you
never saw before in your life comes by to give you mail they accidentally had delivered to them, make
sure you deny it is yours and ask them to just toss it or something.

Shipping speed is something that needs to be thought about carefully. Sending very fast will rush
law enforcements time to obtain a warrant, but will make the package stick out as well. Slow time will
make it difficult to determine based on time if a package has been seized or not, but will allow the
package to blend in and make it less likely to be seized in the first place. Mail should almost always be
sent tracked, and almost never sent with signature. Recipient will be able to check the status of the
package online (check tracking fingerprinting 'chapter) if it is tracked, and some times the tracking will
signal to you if the package has been seized (which is excellent to know if it was sent to a fake ID po box
you can just drop.) but who knows how long it will take before they notice what is being done and stop
announcing on tracking that packages have been seized. I suggest you send packages with a middle level
of priority, fast enough that a delay could be noticed but slow enough that the package will not stick out.
Items sent with the highest priority shipping speeds tend to be inspected far more than items sent at
normal or even mid priority.

Mail Tracking: (Counter)fingerprinting Arms Race

Recent reports (2010) indicate that mailing agencies have been implementing fingerprinting systems
that watch tracking for people connecting from Tor or other open proxies (this is a sort of open source
intelligence operation fwiw). It is possible that they are even fingerprinting for people connecting from
open WiFi. Such activity could flag a package or address. This is a difficult problem, checking tracking is
highly useful but it is not safe to do so with out anonymity. Rooting a local machine and using it as a
proxy to check tracking, and only connecting to the local machine via Tor or WiFi, can solve this problem.
Of course this requires that you have the ability to take over a local computer.

Using WiFi is probably far less likely to raise suspicion than using Tor or a similar proxy solution.
Enough people use random open WiFi (especially WiFi from legitimate locations) that there should be a
substantial enough crowd to hide in.

Interception Detection Technology

By creating RFID devices attached to photovoltaic cells with volatile memory chips, interception can
be detected prior to picking up product. The interception detecting devices store a state in memory
which can be made to transmit after a period of time. Battery powered RFID tags can transmit a signal
over one hundred feet. By configuring the devices to wipe the volatile memory if the photovoltaic cell is
triggered, we can detect interceptions. If customs opens the package, the photovoltaic cell triggers a
wipe function and clears the key stored in memory. By using a wand to scan for the signal produced by
the key, you can thus determine if your package was opened between the vendor sending it and your
box (No transmit = opened or RFID tag removed ... Transmit = not opened and RFID tag in place).
Customs will not be able to replace the state of the volatile memory after triggering the wipe sequence.
More sophisticated devices can also be made in order to trigger upon oxygen and other stimuli. These
devices can be created for small sums of money and are quite small. Using this sort of technology could
protect substantially from the risk of compromise if the vendor is not themselves malicious.

GPS Dead Drop Introduction

For localized networks GPS dead drops may be the best way to do product transfer. GPS is a
positioning system that allows people with GPS reviver's to determine their coordinates. WAAS GPS is a
technology that allows for three meter positioning accuracy.
 Dead drops involve Alice leaving a product at a location, then telling Bob the location so he can
make a pick up. Alice can record the GPS coordinates of a position and give the coordinates to Bob. Bob
can then use a GPS device to locate the objects coordinates. This is very simple, Bob merely inputs the
coordinates into his GPS device and follows an arrow leading him directly to the drop site.

Alice can perform dead drops in numerous ways. Using dead drop spikes is one option. A dead drop
spike is a hollow spike that can be filled with product and easily inserted into the ground. Alice could also
place vacuum sealed bags into the back of public toilets. Alice should not reuse drop sites and should
avoid cameras at all costs.

Alice needs to keep a few things in mind. First of all, shoe prints are a potential issue with dead
drops. Alice may opt to use a special pair of shoes for doing drops and keep these shoes in a hidden
location where they will not be found if she is raided. Alice should take measures to avoid leaving
recoverable shoe prints in the first place, such as not placing drops in highly muddy areas.

Alice should take all standard precautions; avoid leaving fingerprints on dead drop items, do not
carry a cell phone during the drop to avoid cellphone geopositioning intersection attacks, avoid cameras,
disguising efforts, etc.

Interception Technology

There are several technologies used in an attempt to detect packages of illegal substances. Tera
hertz scanning is one such example. Tera hertz ray scanning involved illuminating a target envelope with
tunable Tera hertz radiation and analyzing the absorption spectra of the resulting image. The results are
cross referenced with a database of spectra to check for the chemicals of interest. Currently it takes ten
minutes to fully scan and analyze a single letter, although increasing this speed to one minute per letter
is in the grasp of current technology. Even with this potential decrease in the amount of time it takes to
scan individual letters, this system could not be implemented en masse without slowing the mail system
down to a screeching halt. It is much more likely that this technology will be used to scan mail that has
already been flagged by customs personnel using other methods.

Infrared scanners and X-rays work fundamentally in the same way. They are used to detect
irregularities in envelopes or packages, which is possible cause for further investigation by other more
precise means.

Drug dogs are trained to detect even trace amounts of controlled substances and are used by virtually
all customs agencies world wide. Despite their excellent ability to detect certain substances, the
overwhelming amount of mail in the system means that they will not be able to sniff all mail. In addition
to this, drug dogs are not trained to smell the vast majority of existing psychoactive substances, and due
to the staggering number of said substances it is virtually impossible that they ever will be. Using
vacuum seals can greatly reduce the radius in which a drug dog can hit on a package from, as well as stop
agents from smelling products. Avoid using masking scents, they are not useful and can flag a package.

Counter Tactics: If we get enough people to spray highly concentrated marijuana/alcohol solutions in
various mail boxes, we could potentially create a tremendous number of false positives. We need to
answer the following research questions: A. Will spraying concentrated marijuana extract into mail boxes
rub off onto mail in amounts significant enough to cause a drug dog to alert B. How long after the box is
sprayed will mail from it cause a drug dog to alert C. What risks come from spraying such extract into
boxes, assuming that nobody notices you while doing it D. Can we cause enough false positives for this
to be a worthwhile countermeasure?

Another method of detection involves drug residue detectors. Traces of controlled substances are
collected on a small filter held in the end of a vacuum sweeper hose which has been previously tested to
insure no contamination. The instrument uses an analytical technique in which the traces of controlled
substances on the filter are heated to vapors and ionized. The time required for the ions to drift through
an electric field is measured and the substances are identified by the "drift" time through the electric
field.

Field agents may test a small sample of an intercepted substance to determine if it is likely an illegal
drug (or perhaps confirm it is not what it is documented as). They will likely use traditional reagent tests,
such as marquis, to accomplish this. A positive result on a reagent test does not absolutely verify what a
substance is, but it is likely probable cause for a search warrant, as it will take some time to get a
substance GC/MS tested and they are not usually going to want to tip off a suspect with undue delays.

Absolute identification of a substance will likely be done by GC/MS at a lab. after a package is
intercepted GC/MS testing will likely take some time to complete, but is guaranteed to positively identify
a substance, provided the lab testing has a reference. Some rare drugs may be difficult for some labs to
correctly identify.
 Reactions to Intercepted Mail

There are two potential reactions to an intercepted drug package; a controlled delivery or a love
letter. To bust recipients of intercepted drug mail, customs officials will often dress as postmen and make
an arrest after the suspect accepts the package. Often times they will allow a few minutes to pass in
hopes that the suspect will have opened the package, and then raid the premises. This happens almost
always in the case of non-pharmaceutical illegal drug interceptions, and often times with scheduled
opiate prescriptions.

Sometimes if you are getting very small amounts of drugs, especially lowly scheduled drugs and
pharmaceuticals, you will only get a letter from customs telling you to knock your shit off. They will
almost certainly keep your address in a database, so once you get a love letter make sure never to use
that address again.

You can expect that if you get one package seized, that other incoming packages are likely to be
seized as well. So try and only have one incoming pack per box at a time. Also, it is quite likely return
address networks can be formed, especially with fast shipping methods. So never ever send mail from a
box that has a tie to you unless you get the box JUST for that purpose. Also very frequently change the
return address you use to stop network analysis from being done.