STAVROPOL. Dec 11 (Interfax-AVN) - The command of the North Caucasus regional border guard department has decided to remove several provisional border posts in the foothills due to bad weather, a spokesman for the department headquarters said on Tuesday.
The rationale behind the decision is a snowfall of 1.5m that affected most mountain passes, the spokesman told Interfax- Military News Agency.
The situation on the border section controlled by the North Caucasus department did not change considerably on Monday. Reconnaissance, combat and ambush operations were carried out according to plan, and border guard aviation was used widely. The department paid extra attention to the Chechen and Abkhazian border straps.
According to the spokesman, 27,000 people entered and left Russia through the Vesyoloye-Avtodorozhnoye checkpoint on Monday.
Border guards and customs officers examining a GAZ-21 truck on its way to Russia seized 70 assault rifle cartridges of the 7.62mm caliber from a 49-year-old resident of Abkhazia. Investigation is underway.
The department has detained over 100 people involved in illegal armed formations this year, the spokesman said. The border guards have seized 79 pieces of firearms, over 18,000 cartridges, 19t of explosives, 6.5kg of drugs and RUB10.7m (USD355,380) worth of contraband. Over seven million people and more than 684,600 vehicles have crossed the border since January 2001.