eli5 if people are forced to become drug mules by force like threatened to being killed if they refuse do they still go to prison if they notify someone at the airport

Question

Watching this drug smuggling program on TV and I’ve always wondered if the victims of said scenarios face charges despite confessing they were forced to do it.

In: Other

Answer 1

If they choose to walk up and admit to security of their own free will BEFORE they get caught, then no, in those cases the person is treated as the victim of the crime and not the criminal.

But if they only admit to it after being caught/questioned, and try to say “I was forced to do it” then, that doesn’t really work for them.