Estonia destroys Russian underwater pipeline!

  • 2007-11-14
  • In cooperation with BNS

TALLINN 's Estonia and Russia may not be able to agree on the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea, but they have beenable to co-operate on another controversial underwater pipeline project.

Border guards from both countries haveco-operated to shut down a pipe through which criminals attempted to pump neatalcohol from Russia into Estonia under the River Narva.

A spokesman for the Estonian Border Guard Board told BalticNews Service that the hose from Ivangorod to Narva was discovered on Monday aftera tip-off and Estonian border guards severed the hose.

Russian customs workers in Ivangorod caught a local manred-handed with an 800-liter drum of alcohol and a hose in the back of his FordTransit van.

According to Russian news agency Interfax, the man passedthe hose to associates on the other side of the border and used an electricpump to transfer the moonshine.

On the Estonian side, the case is being handled bythe Tax and Customs Board and is only in its early stages.

Hoses have been laid through the NarvaRiver beforefor the smuggling of illicit hooch.

A year ago, border guards at the Narva-Joesuu stationtogether with environmental inspectors discovered 1,700 meters of plastic hoselaid across the River Torvajogi, a tributary of the Narva.

Another 300 meter hose was also found at Riigikula lastNovember and an impressive 2 km pipeline was discovered in the Narva Reservoirin 2004.