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Five kilos: Penalties and practice in the international cocaine trade

Fleetwood, Jennifer (2011) Five kilos: Penalties and practice in the international cocaine trade. British Journal of Criminology, 51 (2). pp. 375-393. ISSN 0007-0955. (doi:10.1093/bjc/azr006) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:31474)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr006

Abstract

Current and proposed sentence guidelines for drug-trafficking offences in the United Kingdom are underpinned by the neo-liberal 'commonsense' assumption that greater quantities will yield a greater profit, which deserves greater punishment. At present, this is achieved through the use of weight to determine the maximum sentence available (five kilos for Class A drugs). Drawing on ethnographic research with drug traffickers imprisoned in Ecuador, this paper problematizes the use of weight as a measure of seriousness. This research finds that mules often carry greater quantities than professional traffickers and that therefore sentence guidelines premised on weight will punish mules disproportionately.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/bjc/azr006
Uncontrolled keywords: drug mules, drug trade, neo-liberalism, sentencing guidelines
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Andrew Buller
Date Deposited: 10 Oct 2012 10:29 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:09 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/31474 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Fleetwood, Jennifer.

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