If you're a transport, either way, you're ganked because transports can't really fight against pretty much anything.
And when it concerns smugglers, different rules are afoot.
We have never claimed we make it even for smugglers, because we don't, and it'd be stupid if we did.
Honor among soldiers in opposite sides has a place of value among us (in-RP), and therefore we do tend to try and keep things sporty.
As for smugglers, in-RP they indeed are something we try with all our might to squish under our boot.
Smugglers most probably will not get much mercy, ever.
They can drop their contraband or they can perish, really. There's perhaps a -bit- of wiggle room in-RP, but it's very hard for me to think of RP persuasive enough as to get a bunch of border patrol ships to just let a smuggler get away with his contraband.
Edit:
Not saying it's impossible, but nonetheless very unlikely.
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<span style="color:#000000">All morons hate it when you call them a moron.