Albert, a 32-year-old former math teacher, takes a darker path. Abandoning his profession in France, he starts smuggling art objects from Afghanistan into Europe, making significant profits. The temptation to exploit the East — whether for drugs, art, or women — became a common thread in the hippie trail narrative. Some travelers arrived with noble intentions and spiritual aspirations, but others came for cheap highs and illicit commerce.
For female travelers, the risks were even greater. A French couple is cited in the report: they try to support their journey by performing in nightclubs. When the man falls ill with appendicitis, the woman, alone and vulnerable, is sent home by the French embassy. Elsewhere, the report speaks of young hippie girls who finance their travels through prostitution, often with the complicity or encouragement of their boyfriends. Such stories, whether common or isolated, painted a grim portrait of the movement’s underside.
Hashish use, already a concern in Iran, escalated with the influx of foreign users. Hippies were not only consuming the drug but also becoming middlemen in its regional distribution networks, especially en route to Europe. For Iranian authorities, this behavior — coupled with incidents of theft, illness, and smuggling — cast a long shadow over any romanticized view of hippies as harmless peace-seekers.