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'Smuggling tunnels' are secret tunnels, usually hidden underground, used for smuggling of goods and people.

Contents

Smuggling tunnel in Sarajevo, Bosnia

Smuggling tunnels in Rafah, Gaza Strip

Purpose of the tunnels

Description of the tunnels

The tunnels as businesses

Operation Rainbow

Arafat family connection

The American smuggling tunnels

Early history

U.S.-Canadian drug smuggling tunnel

Largest U.S.-Mexican tunnel is discovered

See also

External links

Smuggling tunnel in Sarajevo, Bosnia

During the Siege of Sarajevo a tunnel underneath the no-man's land of the city's (closed) airport provided a vital smuggling link for the beleaguered city residents. Guns were smuggled into the city and (at what critics said were exploitievly high rates) people were smuggled out.
It features in the British film "Welcome to Sarajevo" and the dark Serbian satire of conflict "Underground".

Smuggling tunnels in Rafah, Gaza Strip

Smuggling tunnels connect Egypt and the Gaza Strip, bypassing the international border established by the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. The tunnels pass under the "Philadelphi buffer zone" (also called "Philadelphi Route" ציר פילדלפי in Hebrew)—an area given to Israeli military control in the Oslo accords in order to secure the border with Egypt.

Purpose of the tunnels

The tunnels connect the Egyptian town of Rafah with the Palestinian refugee camp of Rafah. These tunnels are used to smuggle both people, in and out of the Gaza Strip, and a wide variety of items, including food and clothes, cigarettes, alcohol, and vehicle parts. With the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada, the tunnels were used mainly for smuggling of weapons and explosives used by Palestinian militants.

Description of the tunnels

Rafah is located on the borderline of the Gaza Strip and Egypt. As a result of this geographical location, it accommodated tunnels and has a history of smuggling. These tunnels were and are mainly used by Palestinian militant organizations and gangs for weapon smuggling, and bringing cheap goods from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.
The tunnels are normally dug by individual contractors from basements of houses or an olive grove under the border at depths of up to 15 meters (49 feet), reaching up to 800 meters (2640 feet) in length. In few cases, the owners of the houses might receive a portion of the profits from the smuggling and maybe some sort of financial compensation from those in charge of the tunnel building if the tunnel is discovered and the house destroyed.

The tunnels as businesses

The tunnels are run as businesses, mainly by the Abu Samhadana and Abu Rish families, both of Bedouin origin. Smuggling provides tens of thousands of dollars in profits for each delivery. Some sources have also reported financial links to the Arafat family. [1]
According to one report [2], the cost of smuggling a person from Egypt into the Gaza strip is $1000. A Kalashnikov rifle in the Gaza Strip can cost up to $1000 compared with 2000 Egyptian pounds ($320) across the border. A single bullet used to cost $3 in Gaza compared with $0.08 in Egypt, but since the Hamas coup, and the subsequent capture of the Fatah weapons' storage, the prices have dropped.
As of May 19, 2004 SA-7 Strela-2 shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missiles, and other long-range rockets are reported to be stored on the Egyptian side of the border waiting to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip. [3]

Operation Rainbow

Between September 2000 and May 2004 ninety tunnel egresses leading to a few tunnels connecting Egypt and the Gaza Strip have been found and destroyed by the Israeli defense Forces. [4]. One of the operations to destroy these tunnels and damage the militant infrastructure in Gaza was the Operation Rainbow.

Arafat family connection

It is believed that some of the tunnels were controlled by one of the Palestinian Authority security services under the command of Moussa Arafat, cousin of Yasser Arafat. Until his assassination at the hands of a rival Palestinian faction in 2005, Moussa Arafat was believed to receive a portion of the profits derived from the smuggling tunnels. [5]

The American smuggling tunnels

Early history

Shanghai tunnels have been used to smuggle people out of the United States to work as slaves aboard ships.

U.S.-Canadian drug smuggling tunnel

In early 2005, a group of Canadian drug-smugglers took up the idea, and constructed a tunnel between a greenhouse in Langley, British Columbia and the basement of a house in Lynden, Washington. They bought the two properties and began construction work. Authorities were alerted when a neighbour noticed the large-scale construction work being undertaken in the greenhouse. On inspection, it was apparent that tons of construction material was entering, and piles of dirt were coming out.
It became known within a short time by both American and Canadian border authorities that a tunnel was being built. Video and audio devices were installed secretly by customs officials both at the termini and in the tunnel itself.
On July 14, the tunnel having been completed, the first packs of marijuana began going through. Officials raided the home soon after and arrested the three men. They then appeared before court in Seattle.

Largest U.S.-Mexican tunnel is discovered

In late January, 2006, the largest smuggling tunnel to date was found on the US-Mexico border. The 2400-foot-long (720m) tunnel runs from a warehouse near the Tijuana airport to a warehouse in San Diego. When discovered, it was devoid of people, but it did contain 2 tons of marijuana. It was 5 feet high and up to 90 feet deep. The floor was made of cement and the walls were dried dirt, with lights lining one side and a ventilation system to keep fresh air circulating. Authorities said it was unclear how long the tunnel had been in operation.
On January 30, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a Mexican Citizen, who was linked to the tunnel via the U.S. warehouse, operated by V&F Distributors LLC. On the Friday before, January 27, immigration authorities reportedly received information that the Mexican cartel behind the operation was threatening the lives of any agents involved with the construction or occupation of the tunnel. US Customs and Immigration, however, pledged to protect them as best they can. Authorities believe Tijuana's Arellano-Felix drug syndicate, or some other well-known drug cartel, was behind the building and operation of the tunnel. [6]

See also

★ Escape tunnel

★ illegal drugs

★ smuggling

★ Illegal immigration

★ Illegal immigration in the United States

External links

★ Profits drive smuggling in Rafah

★ Exposure of Smuggling Tunnels: A Chronology

★ "Light at the end of the tunnel" - Maariv writes up over the battles between the IDF, Palestinian "terrorists" and the residents of Rafah over the smuggling tunnels.

★ In pictures: Searching for Gaza's tunnels

★ Razing Rafah Human Rights Watch report on use of tunnels as pretext for mass home demolitions

★ Secret U.S.-Mexican Border Tunnel (article with text, picture of tunnel, and map)