At the Border

Most of the time, crossing an international border within Europe is a non-event; your passport will be glanced at and you’ll be on your way - sometimes, between Holland and Belgium or Spain and Portugal, even that won’t happen. Be aware, though - an offense that may be ignored in a large city will probably be taken seriously at a border crossing, especially anything having to do with drugs-If you forget about that little bag of Amsterdam hash until a friendly canine reminds you about it when crossing into Germany, yoU have just become a drug smuggler. Even drug paraphernalia, us^o or not, will raise eyebrows if spotted.

Border guards, unlike big-city police, do not deal with or arrest criminals regularly - their main concerns are stamping passports and catching senior citizens with too many cigarettes. Nailing a genuine drug smuggler will most certainly make their day. The absolute best you can expect if drugs are discovered on you is a long delay, a blitzkrieg search through every inch of your things, and denial of entry to the country you’re trying to visit. The worst you can get, especially in Spain, Greece, or, God forbid, Turkey, doesn’t bear thinking about.

This all may seem obvious, but in London I once met an American girl who cheerfully described how she carried marijuana in her pocket through Heathrow Airport customs. By-the-by, had you been traveling with this person, or even struck up a friendship on the plane, guess who could have been detained had she Deen caught. This goes double for countries like Greece and Turkey. Yelling “But I just met the girl!!” probably won’t convince tne border guard who has just arrested your new friend for drugs, ar)d is now pushing you into the back of a van bound for God kws where.

For just these reasons, be very suspicious if someone asks you to carry something for them, especially across a border (refuse immediately and get the hell away from that person), and be careful with the casual traveling partners you pick up. Horror stories of chance acquaintances loading a kilogram of hashish into the luggage of their new friend before crossing a border are not just stories. This applies more to the serious trekker than the summer traveler, but it can’t hurt to be aware of the possibility.