BRATISLAVA, July 19, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovak police found a 700 meters long tunnel at the Slovakia-Ukraine border and claim it was used for at least one year to smuggle cigarettes from Ukraine and maybe even people. One end of the tunnel was between the Slovak villages of Vysne Nemecke and Nizne Nemecke and on the Ukrainian side in Uzhorod. The tunnel was in a depth of about six meters. Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, Finance Minister Peter Kazimir, Police Chief Tibor Gaspar and Director of the Criminal Office of the Financial Administration Josef Lutheran informed about the tunnel at a press conference on Thursday.
„This is a case very similar to a story from a film from Mexican-American border,“ said Kazimir. When the police raided the premises on the Slovak end of the tunnel, they seized more than 13,000 cartons of cigarettes. According to Kazimir, they observed movement in the tunnel two or three times a week. During the whole time the tunnel was operated, estimated tax evasion could have amounted to EUR 50 million in excise duty on tobacco. The tunnel was uncovered as a result of cooperation between Criminal Office of the Financial Administration and the Police Corps. Minister Kalinak pointed out the willingness of Ukrainian authorities to cooperate in investigating this unprecedented case. The Interior Minister described the particularly interesting technical equipment of the tunnel, which was professionally built and used a small train to carry all types of goods. „I’m afraid, unfortunately, also people,“ he said. Director of the Criminal Office of the Financial Administration Lutheran noted that the tunnel was technically perfect. In order to smuggle goods from Ukraine, operators had to be present on both ends of the tunnel simultaneously, otherwise the system would not work. A specific feature of the tunnel, according to Police President Tibor Gaspar, is that it was probably built using mining technology and reinforcement. He could not estimate how long it took to build it. He specified that on the Slovak side of the tunnel 480 meters long and its end was in some business premises. There, a truck was waiting to load the smuggled goods. Lutheran said they could fill the truck within two hours. On the Ukrainian side, the end of the tunnel was in a family house.
Police arrested one of the organizers of the smuggling and a truck driver. However, Gaspar stressed that this crime was certainly not perpetrated by two people. „An investigation team continues working on the case, it will not take one or two week and it cannot be ruled out that others would be accused later,“ said Lutheran. Gaspar said the tunnel will be sealed by concrete.
SITA