The flooded tunnel discovered by Ukrainian authorities near the Ukrainian-Slovak border on Friday did not surface in Slovakia, Slovak Police Presidium spokesperson Denisa Baloghová told the TASR newswire on Monday, August 20.
The unfinished tunnel, drilled like a mineshaft, albeit amateurishly, ended between border marks 342-343 – around 20 metres short of the Slovak border. The tunnel was 70 metres long on the Ukrainian side. According to Baloghová, the tunnel has not been used for any unlawful activities, and therefore no prosecution will be launched.
"We continue to monitor the territory adjacent to the Slovak-Ukrainian state border, and will adopt adequate measures if necessary," she said. Only a month ago, the Slovak authorities discovered a 700-metre tunnel used to smuggle goods (especially cigarettes) and individuals between the two countries. The underground passage showed a high level of engineering expertise and was possibly dug out using mining technology. It ran six metres below the ground, with some 480 metres of its 700-metre span in Slovakia. Two people involved with the tunnel were caught in a police dragnet at that time, with Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák predicting that more arrests would soon follow.
Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar recently indicated that a major criminal group must be behind the construction of the recently discovered tunnel, while similar structures may also be present under the Hungarian-Ukrainian and Polish-Ukrainian borders.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
