Since August 8, Estonia has introduced increased customs control on the border with Russia at all checkpoints — in Narva, Luhamaa and Koidul.
ERR writes about it.
As the Estonian government emphasized, this was done so that sanctioned goods could not enter Russia.
"Most often, third countries are indicated as the destination in the declaration. Practice shows that on the way to the destination — which is mostly located in Asian countries — this product stops halfway, somewhere in the middle of Russian spaces. Among such goods there are many suspicious items — for example, items of military or mixed purpose, and cash," said the Minister of Finance of Estonia Jürgen Ligi.
According to him, increased control means that everyone will be examined when leaving Russia. Passengers will be interviewed, if suspicions arise or personal belongings will be selectively inspected. Transport will be controlled in the same way.
"As for the goods, first of all they will check the documents. If necessary, they will be examined with the help of X-rays. In some cases, the product may be unloaded to check it," Ligi said.
- The Estonian customs used to say that most often they try to smuggle euros in cash, expensive branded items, luxury wines and auto parts from the European Union to Russia.