Baltic drug mule problem born in Estonia

Photo: Reuters / Scanpix

According to Inga Springe, author of documentary Drug Mules telling the story of a Baltic drug courier caught abroad, she got the impression while shooting the movie that drug mule problem hit Estonia before reaching Latvia and Lithuania; even so, right now the crisis is equally acute in all three Baltic states.

«Stories of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian drug couriers are very similar. Looks like Estonians got into it before Latvians and Lithuanians did. The Baltic drug mule boom started during the financial crisis,» said Ms Springe.

As she shot the movie, Ms Springe also managed to talk to Estonians serving prison terms in Peru; however, they did not agree to be filmed.

«In that prison, during the time of my visit, there were 25-30 people from the Baltics. From Lithuania, mostly, but from Latvia and Estonia as well. I met men in that prison, some quite advanced in years, not looking like criminals at all. Had they had other ways to earn money, I believe they would not have gotten involved in drugs smuggling. As also stated in a UN drug report: during economic crisis, numbers of drug couriers from Eastern Europe noticeably increased,» noted Ms Springe.

According to Ms Springe, the average drug mule, in the Peruvian prison, may have been 30 years of age, approximately. However, some men were much younger, some a lot older. «There, I met a young Estonian man of about 24,» recalls Ms Springe. «I felt so sorry for him, he seemed very intelligent. He said he took a loan to renovate his apartment, but as the crisis hit he was unable to pay.»

Also, she recalled another Estonian who claimed to have thought he went to Latin-America to do construction work. Crossing the border, he had no idea there were drugs in his luggage.