Over the past 20 years, jail terms for those caught smuggling drugs, fireworks, and other illegal items have increased by 45.6 percent. As a result, more smugglers are now moving legal goods – soda pop, lipstick, throw rugs, etc.
“The illegal trade has just gotten too risky,” says Sheila Paterson of the Glanding Group, a job placement agency specializing in smugglers. “The pay is phenomenal but you’re always worried you might go to jail for 30 years.” Since most of her clients would prefer not to have prison time on their resumes, 75 percent of the smuggling jobs she’s filling today involve things like doughnuts, noodle makers, ping pong paddles and lamp switches.
“I also see a very bright future in curtain rods and pepper shakers,” says Patterson, noting that there are more candidates than available jobs. “Simply put,” she says, “my clients are looking for less stress in their lives.”
One of them, Bob Turner, 42, has been smuggling paper cutters between Grand Rapids and Detroit for the past 18 months. Before that he was smuggling nuclear warheads between the US and Kazakhstan.
“Back then I was working 100 hours a week or more,” he says. “Today I make two or three trips a week and never miss a little league game.”
