How your Amazon Returns Fuel a Drug Cartel in Latin America
⚡ The Hustle put together a free report on 10 industries ripe for disruption (some pretty wild ones in there): https://clickhubspot.com/b80148--
A strange retail phenomenon is spreading across Latin America: bin stores filled with Amazon returns.
In Costa Rica alone, hundreds of these “outlets” have appeared, selling mystery pallets of returned e-commerce items for pennies on the dollar. On the surface it looks like harmless thrifting. But behind the scenes, a much darker story may be unfolding.
In this episode, we follow the journey of a returned Amazon product — from U.S. fulfillment centers to liquidation auctions, to pallets shipped across borders… and eventually into the chaotic outlet economy in Latin America.
Along the way we uncover the massive scale of the returns economy (over $850B per year), the logistics loopholes that make these shipments possible, and why authorities say the system has become a gateway for contraband, money laundering, and organized crime.
This isn’t a story about blaming people for returning packages.
It’s about the unexpected global ripple effects of modern e-commerce.
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📚 Sources & References
Miami International Airport — Latin America Trade Statistics
https://miami-airport.com/library/pdfdoc/Cargo%20Documents/2025%20MIA%20Trade%20Stats-LatAm.pdf
National Retail Federation — Retail Returns Landscape
https://nrf.com/research/2025-retail-returns-landscape
The Robin Report — Returned Goods Resale Statistics
https://therobinreport.com/fewer-than-half-of-returned-goods-are-resold-at-full-price-heres-why/
CNN — What Happens to Online Shopping Returns
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/30/business/online-shopping-returns-liquidators
WIRED — Fashion Disposal and the Returns Problem
https://www.wired.com/story/fashion-disposal-environment/
La Nación — Investigation into Outlet Import Practices
https://www.nacion.com/sucesos/como-declaran-los-outlets-su-mercaderia-camara-de/THMJ67ZJWNBBRANI5HPAWIAZZQ/story/
Teletica — Organized Crime in Outlet Businesses
https://www.teletica.com/nacional/camara-de-comercio-afirma-que-crimen-organizado-se-metio-en-negocio-de-outlets_398222
Le Monde — Costa Rica and the Rise of Narcotrafficking
https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2025/02/11/costa-rica-la-suisse-de-l-amerique-latine-plongee-dans-la-tourmente-du-narcotrafic_6542131_3210.html
The Tico Times — Costa Rica’s Drug Trafficking Concerns
https://ticotimes.net/2025/02/12/costa-ricas-paradise-lost-from-tourist-haven-to-drug-hub
#AmazonReturns
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