X-Ray Machines to Crack Down on Border Contraband
Cameras and X-ray machines are going into service on Estonia's eastern border to combat increasing smuggling.
Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi said the new level of scrutiny is based on an amendment to the Customs Act. Customs will obtain the right to use X-rays to examine passengers' luggage and vehicles, ERR radio reported.
"We will see cars and their license plates photographed at the border and these data will be retained," said Ligi. "But these data are not linked to names and this will not present any new problems for travelers."
This will allow anything amiss in the appearance of vehicles to be identified, such as body work concealing a cache of contraband, according to customs management director, Urmas Järg, at the Tax and Customs Board.
Järg stressed that the new equipment should not cause delays. "The x-ray examination will take only a few dozen seconds," he said, comparing it to clearing airport security.
In an interview with ERR radio, Järg said that the number of cigarettes smuggled into Estonia has doubled, with the 10 million cigarettes found in six months this year being equal to the number found in all of 2010.
Kristopher Rikken