Smuggling tunnel
Smuggling tunnels are
secret tunnels, usually hidden underground, used for
smuggling of
goods and
people.
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 exploitively 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 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 פיל×"לפי 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 people, mostly refugees escaping from Israeli attacks, and a wide variety of items, including
food,
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
The tunnels are dug from
basements of houses under the border at depths of up to 15
metres (49 feet), reaching up to 800 metres (2640 feet) in length. The owners of the houses receive a portion of the
profits from the smuggling as well as compensation if the tunnel is discovered and the house destroyed.
Israeli responses to the tunnels
The Israeli military has used the presence of tunnels to justify the demolition of over 1,600 Palestinian homes in Rafah since
the year 2000. Both
Human Rights Watch and the Israeli
newspaper Ha'aretz, however, have reported that Israel has refused to use
technology that could easily detect and neutralize tunnels at the point where they cross the border. Human Rights Watch has
accused Israel of using the tunnels as a pretext to demolish homes in order to create a
'buffer zone' along the densely populated border.
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 costs $3 in Gaza compared with $0.08 in Egypt.
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 Defence Forces. [
4]. One of the operations to destroy these tunnels and damage the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza was the
controversial 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]
Early history
Shanghai tunnels have been used to smuggle people out of the
United States to work as slaves aboard ships.
The long land borders of the
United States have always attracted drug smugglers, and countless tunnels have been built.
Post-September 11th U.S. responses to tunnels
Due to the country's restrictive policy on immigration in the wake of the
September 11, 2001 attacks, and heightened
security, many more secret tunnels were built to enter the country from
Mexico, most running between
Tijuana on the Mexican side and
San Diego, California on the American side.
The prevalent use is drug smuggling, but many other operations have been discovered. About 35 such tunnels have been uncovered.
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 were 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 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 suspect Tijuana's ruthless Arellano-Felix drug syndicate, or some other well-known cartel, is behind the tunnel and its operations. [
6]
The subject of
Spiritual songs during the period of the
Slavery in the
Deep South of the
United States of America and
Washington D.C., the
Underground Railroad was a collective name for the overland routes taken by escaped slaves seeking
emancipation in the free states of the Northern United States and Canada.
*
Escape tunnel*
illegal drugs*
smuggling*
Illegal immigration*
Illegal immigration in the United States*
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)
