STAVROPOL. July 2 (Interfax-AVN) - Servicemen of the North Caucasus Regional Border Guard Directorate have confiscated almost RUB25m's (USD870,000) worth of smuggled goods in 2004.
"Within the first five months of 2004 the North Caucasus Regional Border Guard Directorate jointly with other law- enforcement agencies confiscated over RUB24m's (USD860,000) worth of smuggled goods. It has also issued RUB2.2m's (USD75,764) worth of fines," the Directorate reported on Friday.
The Astrakhan border guard unit apprehended two Russian citizens and a Kyrgyz resident for violating the state border on Thursday. They attempted to smuggle RUB200,000's (USD6,890) worth of Chinese goods, loaded into a GAZ-53 truck.
The unit commander decided to hand over the truck to Astrakhan customs officers, while the violators were fined.