Out of more than 60 000 irregular migrants detected at the external borders of the European Union only 211 were detected along the Eastern external border of the European Union in the first three months of the year. Although few migrants were detected, the border (which is 6 000 km long and runs continuously from Norway to Romania), remains the main entry point for smuggled excise goods, in particular cigarettes.
The first quarter of 2015 was marked by seizure of significant amounts of illicit cigarettes smuggled in cars, on cargo trains or transported across border rivers. Cigarettes were found, for example, concealed in fuel tanks and hollowed out timber logs on Polish Ukrainian border. Large quantities of cigarettes were also found on floats on Nemen River, which forms a border between Belarus and Lithuania.
Although just four people were detected
hiding in cars and trains while crossing the European Union border, in one case, a Russian woman was found in a suitcase on a
train from Moscow to Nice. The suitcase belonged to a French citizen, who was
the woman’s husband. When questioned at the border crossing between Poland and
Belarus in Terespol, the couple said the reason for hiding in the suitcase was
that the woman lacked relevant documents to enter the European Union.