From Britain's Smuggling History:
"This hierarchy of [customs] officials had to administer a welter of complex laws that were added to the statute book over the centuries to protect the wool industry. The restoration of the monarchy added still more, and additionally jacked up the penalties for illegal export of wool. In 1660 all export of wool was forbidden, and soon afterwards further legislation ensured that those who smuggled wool out risked the gallows for their sins. Some of the measures taken seem extraordinary: a 1666 statute even obliged everyone to be buried in a shroud made of pure wool cloth!
"These restrictions outraged wool producers, who, faced with low prices in England, naturally turned to the export trade to stave off starvation. This was hardly a new situation: as early as 1390 there was a stockpile of unsold fleeces amounting to three years output. However, as the 17th century came to a close, export of wool from England's southern counties was getting seriously out of control, as fleeces fled to Flanders by the thousand almost as soon as they had been separated from the sheep's back. According to one estimate, 120,000 packs of wool annually were exported illegally.
The centre of the trade was Kent, where the wool exporters were known as 'owlers'. As restrictive laws strangled the owlers' trade, they became progressively more bold, and pooled their resources, on the grounds that there's safety in numbers. Soon an owling venture involved hundreds of armed men. [...]
"[300 mounted customs officers and 21 waterguard vessels] were to be the principal opponents of the smugglers for the next century or so, and their effectiveness varied according to the calibre of the officers, their pay and conditions, and other factors. When pay was good, and the service was able to hire committed and diligent officers who could call on the military for assistance, the preventive effort could be remarkably effective. Regrettably, this seemed to be the case for only a minority of the time. The job of riding officer in particular was not well paid, and out of their £42 annual salary, the officers also had to buy and maintain a horse. The temptation to turn a blind eye to a smuggling venture in return for payment of a small fee was irresistible for some.
"The difficulty was exacerbated by the fact that the riding officers lived in the hearts of the communities they were supposed to be policing. If they were diligent in their efforts to prevent smuggling, they were ostracised and persecuted; the alternative was collaboration with the smugglers, an easy life, and a regular supplement to the meagre pay. The easy option must have seemed attractive indeed."
