Smugglers can't use 5k cargo ships. Oh yeah,also. I happen to agree with both sides now. It does suck that first time you get caught (which can be completely by accident) you get fr5'd whether you drop the cargo or not. (Yes,there are douchebags who do this.) If you run,you get blasted. If you drop the cargo,you get fr5'd. If you land,you get fr5'd or sanctioned even. There will always be someone who's going to sit in front of a planet he very well knows is a prime target for smugglers, and just lurk for fresh people to ruin their trade route with a few sentences.
Now,other side. Yes,fr5 is a legitimate inRP punishment for smuggling. For that,you can smuggle say...cardamine, to Buffalo instead of Manhattan. ( "BUT I WILL MAKE LESS MONIEZ THEN AND NO CHALLENGE!!one" - deal with it. :cool:) If you really want to get caught,go land on Manhattan. And then it'll be -your- fault you got fr5'd,noone else's.
Third point of view: I've had a cardi smuggler char for quite a while,and the lawfuls were only half of the problem. If Hackers catch you smuggling,they will most likely tax you if not under their flag. If the rogues do, same procedure. Xenos will just shoot you down. Corsairs will shoot you down. Basically anyone you meet if you're unaffiliated with them will shoot you down or rob you. So,the smuggling routes should be quite a bit more profitable.
Just my 2 cents.
Sucks to be a weight on the wrong side of the brilliance-insanity scale.