Starting August 8, Estonia has decided to introduce tighter customs control on the border with Russia, including the use of X-rays, UNN reports, citing ERR.
Details
The innovations apply to all border checkpoints on the Russian-Estonian border - in Narva, Luhamaa and Koidula.
As emphasized by the Estonian government, this is done to prevent sanctioned goods from entering Russia.
"Third countries are often listed as the destination in the declaration, but we don't believe it. And practice shows that on the way to the destination - which is mostly in Asia - these goods stop halfway, somewhere in the Russian territory. There are many suspicious items among these goods, such as military or mixed-use items and cash," said Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi.
According to him, the increased control means that everyone traveling to Russia will face representatives of the Estonian state in one way or another.
"When it comes to passengers, this will primarily be expressed in visual control and questioning. In case of suspicion or selective inspection of personal belongings, additional inspection of personal belongings will be carried out up to the X-ray examination," said Leahy.
"We will inspect vehicles in the same way. If necessary, the inspection can be more thorough, up to and including an X-ray. As for the goods, the documents will be checked first. If necessary, an additional inspection will also be carried out and X-rays will be taken. In some cases, it may be necessary to unload the goods, open them and count them," the Estonian minister summarized.