Acting maliciously?

The question of whether drug smuggling was a malicious act has been tested in the UK's Supreme Court, as Liz Turnbull of Clyde & Co reports

It is widely acknowledged that trading in certain parts of the world carries with it particular risks, such as piracy, political uncertainty, social instability, corruption or drug trafficking. Colombia and surrounding countries such as Venezuela carry a particularly large risk in relation to drug smuggling where despite the fact that law enforcement agencies have tightened up security to prevent smugglers from attaching drug-filled containers to ships, traffickers continue to regard ocean carriers as a cheap and relatively risk-free way to move their product internationally. All that is required is to find a way to attach the drugs to the hull of the vessel in one port and to retrieve them in the desired destination. The involvement of the captain or the crew is neither necessary nor, in fact, desired.