I saw some drug documentary too. Smuggling in drugs is only one part of the problem. Drugs are small and valuable. Smuggling out the money is an equal problem, because it was all large and bulky. If you bring an entire truck full of cocaine in, you're going to need more than a truck to pull it out.

So while you can buy a few grams or a slave with a briefcase of notes, it's not as easy for the dealer.

Crypto, if safe, would lower the risk by about 50%. Bitcoin is traceable but it seems that something like Monero might be better for this.