Balloon swallower
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balloon swallower is a term used in American law enforcement to refer to an individual who crosses the United States-Mexico border with the intent to smuggle drugs contained in his alimentary canal.
A balloon swallower typically fills tiny balloons with small quantities of a drug, usually heroin or cocaine, and then swallows these balloons. The swallower then attempts to cross into the United States from Mexico, excrete the balloons, and then sell the drugs for profit.
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt with this issue in United States v. Montoya De Hernandez. In Hernandez, a woman attempted to smuggle 88 balloons of cocaine in her alimentary canal. She had been detained for over 16 hours by customs inspectors before she finally passed some of the balloons. She was being held because her abdomen was noticeably swollen (she claimed to be pregnant) and a search of her body had revealed she was wearing two pairs of elastic underpants and had lined her crotch area with paper towels. This is done because balloon swallowing makes bowel movements difficult to control.
 |
This law-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
