Smuggling tunnels are secret tunnels, usually hidden underground, used for smuggling of goods, illegal weapons and people.

Smuggling tunnel in Sarajevo, Bosnia

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 beleagured city residents. Guns were smuggled into the city and (at extortionate rates) people were smuggled out. The only airplane visible on Sarajevo airport, beyond repair since the beginning of the war. ...

It features in the British film "Welcome to Sarajevo" and the dark Serbian satire of conflict "Underground".

Smuggling tunnels in Rafah, Gaza Strip

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 פילדלפי in Hebrew)—an area given to Israeli military control in the Oslo accords in order to secure the border with Egypt. A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853, by Vasily Hudiakov. ... A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ... Border has several different, but related meanings: // Generic borders A border can consist of a margin around the edge of something, such as a lawn, garden, photograph, or sheet of paper. ... The Israel-Egypt peace treaty was signed in Washington on March 26, 1979 as the first of the Camp David Accords (1978). ... The Philadelphi Route (corridor / buffer zone) was an IDF code name for the strip of land along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 6 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP), were finalized in Oslo, Norway on August 20, 1993, and subsequently officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993, with Yasser Arafat signing for the...

The tunnels connect the Egyptian town of Rafah with the Palestinian refugee camp of Rafah. These tunnels are used to smuggle people, including terrorists and prostitutes, and a wide variety of items, including weapons, ammunition, illegal drugs, clothes, cigarettes, alcohol, and vehicle parts. With the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada, the tunnels were used mainly for smuggling of terrorists, weapons and explosives. Rafah (Arabic: رفح Hebrew: רפיח) is a town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border, and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border, on the Sinai Peninsula. ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs (such as the ICRC) to receive refugees. ... Rafah (Arabic: رفح Hebrew: רפיח) is a town in the Gaza Strip, on the Egyptian border, and a nearby town on the Egyptian side of the border, on the Sinai Peninsula. ... Terrorism is the unconventional use of violence for political gain. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... Retail selling Street selling is the bottom of the chain and can be accomplished through purchasing from prostitutes, through cloaked retail stores or refuse houses for users in the act located in red-light districts which often also deal in paraphernalia, dealers marketing merriment at night clubs and other events... (See also List of types of clothing) Introduction Humans often wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body (for the alternative, see nudity). ... A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-kukhul الكحول, al meaning the and kukhul meaning spirit, the chemical) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Vehicles are non-living means of transportation. ... It has been suggested that October 2000 riots (Israel) be merged into this article or section. ...

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.

The Israeli military has used the presence of tunnels to justify the demolition of over 1,600 Palestinian homes in Rafah since 2000. Both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, however, have reported that Israel 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 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. Financial links to the Arafat family have been reported. [1] Bedouin resting at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic badawi بدوي, a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert, Sinai, and... Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات) (August 4 or August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), born Muhammad `Abd ar-Rauf al-Qudwa al-Husayni (محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني) and also known as Abu `Ammar (ابو عمّار), was co-founder and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (1969–2004); President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA...

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. The word Kalashnikov can mean: The AK-47 rifle, that means Avtomat Kalashnikova, or another rifle in that series. ...

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 stored on the Egyptian side of the border waiting to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip. [3] May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A soldier posing with a Strela launcher The 9K32 Strela-2 (Russian 9К32 стрела-2 - arrow, NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile (SAM) system similar to the US Army REDEYE, with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... AT-3A Sagger missile The AT-3 Sagger is the NATO reporting name for the 9M14 Malyutka (little or tiny baby) MCLOS wire-guided anti-tank missile of the Soviet Union. ... An Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is a missile the primary purpose of which is to hit and destroy tanks. ...

Between September 2000 and May 2004 ninety 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. This article is about the year 2000. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ... Operation Rainbow (In Hebrew, מבצע קשת בענן) is a controversial military operation which began on May 18, 2004 in the Gaza Strip. ...

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] The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ... Moussa Arafat Major General Moussa Arafat al-Qidwi (born Jaffa 1941 -- died Gaza City September 7, 2005) was a cousin of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. ... Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات‎) (August 4 or August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), born Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني) and also known by the kunya Abu `Ammar (أبو عمّار), was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (1969–2004); President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) (1993–2004); and a...

The American smuggling tunnels

Shanghai tunnels have been used to smuggle people out of the United States to work as slaves aboard ships. The Portland Underground, or The Shanghai Tunnels as they are more commonly known, are a group of passages running underneath Old Town/Chinatown down to the central downtown section of Portland, Oregon. ...

The long land borders of the United States have always attracted drug smugglers, and countless tunnels have been built.

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 September 11, 2001 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States of America carried out on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, in which hijackers took control of four U.S. domestic commercial airliners. ... Tijuana is the largest city in the Mexican state of Baja California and the seat of the municipality of the same name. ... San Diego at sunset, 2001 Nickname: Americas Finest City, Annapolis West Motto: {{{motto}}} Official website: http://www. ...

The prevalent use is drug smuggling, but many other operations have been discovered. About 35 such tunnels have been uncovered.

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 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. Langley, British Columbia can mean the following: Township of Langley City of Langley This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Lynden is a city located in Whatcom County, Washington. ...

It became known within a short time by both American and Canadian border authorities that a tunnel was being built. Cameras 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. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ...

The Underground Railroad

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 Railway 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. See: Spirituality Spiritual music Spiritual dance The Age of Spiritual Machines Spiritual possession This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Map of some Underground Railroad routes This page is about the slave escape route. ... Emancipation — Oh, Edwin dear! Heres Tom Jones. ...

External links

• 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