Hyperbolic much? At least a portion of the purpose access to items that might be difficult or impossible to obtain. Further, it's entirely legal to bring home modest quantities of various items for possible resale, in some cases at a profit, others not.

Lying on customs forms, for profit, as a member of a smuggling organization, really is a big deal. It doesn't matter that it's not what you would consider conventional "contraband", the socks on your feet are illegal until a customs official has permitted them into their country with or without tax.

These guys used ziplines instead of mules to move untaxed iPhones and iPads into Hong Kong, till the police shut them down.

http://www.intomobile.com/2011/08/09/chinese-ninjas-use-cros...

Here's some more people specifically dodging import taxes and then being arrested:

http://www.cnet.com/news/chinese-children-used-to-smuggle-ip...!

http://www.intomobile.com/2013/08/14/man-caught-smuggling-ip...

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Bad-ideas-lady-caught-smuggli...

This stuff is really black and white illegal.

"At least a portion of the purpose access to items that might be difficult or impossible to obtain" I'm sure that argument can be applied to things such as drugs, firearms, dangerous animal, etc, pretty much anything restricted by export/import laws of a country.

And for your last point, no, it's not entirely legal without paying a tax in all countries. Please research your own country's custom laws before making a statement like that.

In the US it is not legal to bring home items for resale without declaring them.