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Smuggling tunnel

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	Topics Smuggling tunnel Topic Home Smuggling tunnels are secret tunnelsSecret passage A secret passage is a hidden route that is used to travel stealthily.... , usually hidden underground, used for smugglingSmuggling Smuggling is illegal transport, in particular across a border.... of goods and peoplePeople smuggling People smuggling is a term which is used to describe transportation of people across international borders to a non-official... . Smuggling tunnel in Sarajevo, Bosnia During the Siege of SarajevoSiege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare.... a tunnel underneath the no-man's land of the city's (closed) airportAirport An airport is a facility where aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters can take off and land.... 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 BritishUnited Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country and sovereign state that lies off the northwest coast... filmFilm Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general.... "Welcome to Sarajevo" and the dark Serbian satireSatire Satire is a technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject to ridicule, often as an intended means of... of conflict "Underground". Smuggling tunnels in Rafah, Gaza Strip Smuggling tunnels connect EgyptEgypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa.... and the Gaza StripGaza Strip Overview The Gaza Strip is a narrow coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean, in the Middle East.... , bypassing the international borderBorder Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnationa... established by the Israel-Egypt Peace TreatyIsrael-Egypt Peace Treaty The Israel-Egypt peace treaty was signed in Washington, DC, United States, on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accor... . The tunnels pass under the "Philadelphi buffer zone" (also called "Philadelphi RoutePhiladelphi Route The Philadelphi Route was an IDF code name for the strip of land along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.... " ??? ??????? in HebrewHebrew language Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jew... )—an area given to IsraelIsrael Israel , officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Se... i military control in the Oslo accordsOslo Accords The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declar... in order to secure the border with EgyptEgypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa.... . Purpose of the tunnels The tunnels connect the Egyptian town of RafahRafah Rafah is a town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border, and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border, on the Sina... with the Palestinian refugee campRefugee camp A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs to receive refugees.... of RafahRafah Rafah is a town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border, and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border, on the Sina... . These tunnels are used to smuggle both people, in and out of the Gaza Strip, and a wide variety of items, including medicine,foodFacts About Food Food is any substance, usually comprised primarily of carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, water and/or proteins, that can be eate... and clothes, cigaretteFacts About Cigarette A cigarette is a tobacco product manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves, which are rolled or stuffed into a... s, alcoholAlcohol In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substit... , and vehicleVehicle Overview This article is about the means of transport.... parts. With the beginning of the al-Aqsa IntifadaAl-Aqsa Intifada The al-Aqsa Intifada is the wave of violence that began in September 2000 between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis; it is also... , 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 businessesBusiness model The term business model is relatively recent.... , mainly by the Abu SamhadanaAbu Samhadana Jamal Abu Samhadana, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, was the founder of the Popular Resistance Committees,, BBC News Online'... and Abu Rish families, both of BedouinBedouin *Bedouin, derived from the Arabic ' , a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic... origin. Smuggling provides tens of thousands of dollars in profits for each delivery. Some sources have also reported financial links to the ArafatArafat Arafat* is a surname or given name, and may refer to:... family. According to one report , the cost of smuggling a person from Egypt into the Gaza strip is $1000. A KalashnikovAK-47 The AK-47 is a gas-operated assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, and produced by Russian manufacturer Izhevsk Mec... rifleRifle A rifle is a firearm with a stock and a barrel that has a spiral groove or grooves cut into its interior.... 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 SaggerAT-3 Sagger The AT-3 Sagger is the NATO reporting name for the 9M14 Malyutka MCLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile of the So... 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. 40 tons of explosives have been smuggled Operation Rainbow Between September 2000 and May 2004 ninety tunnel egresses leading to a few tunnels connecting EgyptEgypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa.... and the Gaza StripGaza Strip The Gaza Strip is a narrow coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean, in the Middle East.... have been found and destroyed by the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces , often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym ??"? *Tsahal, alternative English sp... . . One of the operations to destroy these tunnels and damage the militant infrastructure in Gaza was Operation RainbowOperation Rainbow Operation Rainbow* is a controversial military operation which began on May 18 2004 in the Gaza Strip.... . 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 ArafatMoussa Arafat Major General Moussa Arafat al-Qidwi was a cousin of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.... , cousin of Yasser ArafatYasser Arafat and [[Yitzhak Rabin]... . Until his assassinationAssassination Overview Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person, usually a political figure or other strategically important ... 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. The American smuggling tunnels Early history Shanghai tunnelsShanghai tunnels The Portland Underground, or The Shanghai Tunnels as they are more commonly known, are a group of passages running und... have been used to smuggle people out of the United StatesUnited States The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is... 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 greenhouseGreenhouse A greenhouse is a building where plants are cultivated.... in Langley, British ColumbiaLangley, British Columbia (district municipality) Langley Township\|-\| align="center" colspan="2" \|... and the basement of a house in Lynden, WashingtonLynden, Washington Lynden is a town in northwest Washington, near the Canadian border.... . 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 authoritiesUnited States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol, a Federal police force, is the mobile uniformed law enforcement arm of U.S.... that a tunnel was being built. VideoVideo Video is the technology of capturing, recording, processing, transmitting, and reconstructing moving pictures, typically usi... and audioSound recording and reproduction Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanical re-creation and/or amplification of sound, often as music.... devices were installed secretly by customs officialsUnited States Customs Service The United States Customs Service was the portion of the U.S.... both at the termini and in the tunnel itself. On July 14, the tunnel having been completed, the first packs of marijuanaCannabis (drug) The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers an... began going through. Officials raided the home soon after and arrested the three men. They then appeared before court in SeattleSeattle, Washington Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.... . Largest U.S.-Mexican tunnel is discovered On January 25, 2006, the largest smuggling tunnel to date was found on the US-Mexico border by a joint U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Border Patrol task force. The 2400-foot-long (720m) tunnel runs from a warehouse near the Tijuana airport to a warehouse in San DiegoSan Diego, California San Diego is a coastal Southern California city located in the southwestern corner of the continental United States.... . 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 exposed clay, with lights lining one side, a ventilation system to keep fresh air circulating, and a water drainage system to remove infiltrating ground water. 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 MexicanMexico The United Mexican States, generally known as Mexico is a country located in North America, bordered at the north by t... cartelCartel A cartel is a group of formally independent producers whose goal it is to fix prices, to limit supply and to limit competiti... 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. See also Escape tunnelEscape tunnel An escape tunnel is a form of secret passage used as part of an escape from captivity.... Illegal drugs SmugglingSmuggling Smuggling is illegal transport, in particular across a border.... Illegal immigrationIllegal immigration Illegal immigration refers to the immigration of people across national borders in violation of the immigration laws of the ... Illegal immigration in the United States External links - MaarivMaariv *Maariv* is a popular daily Hebrew language tabloid newspaper in Israel.... writes up over the battles between the IDF, Palestinian "terrorists" and the residents of Rafah over the smuggling tunnels. Human Rights Watch report on use of tunnels as pretext for mass home demolitions