Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison , or across an international border , in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, social scientists define smuggling as the purposeful movement across a border in contravention to the relevant legal frameworks.
100-464: Ampthill tunnel is a railway tunnel at Ampthill on the Midland Main Line , being positioned between Bedford and Flitwick . It consists of two separate bores, each one accommodating double-track throughout. The first Ampthill Tunnel was built during the 1860s; growing demand on the line led to the original double-track configuration being inadequate for further growth. Thus, during the 1890s,
200-695: A canal . The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in the tunnel. Some tunnels are used as sewers or aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons , contraband , or people . Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings , are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely. Tunnels can be connected together in tunnel networks . A tunnel
300-606: A frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak", most likely entered the English language during the 1600s–1700s. Smuggling has a long and controversial history, probably dating back to the first time at which duties were imposed in any form, or any attempt was made to prohibit a form of traffic . Smuggling is often associated with efforts by authorities to prevent the importation of certain contraband items or non-taxed goods; however, there has also been smuggling based on illegally exporting goods. In England smuggling first became
400-743: A border oneself, for illegal immigration or illegal emigration. In many parts of the world, particularly the Gulf of Mexico , the smuggling vessel of choice is the go-fast boat . Submitting to border checks with the goods or people hidden in a vehicle or between (other) merchandise, or the goods hidden in luggage, in or under clothes, inside the body (see body cavity search , balloon swallower and mule ), etc. Many smugglers fly on regularly scheduled airlines . A large number of suspected smugglers are caught each year by customs worldwide. Goods and people are also smuggled across seas hidden in containers , and overland hidden in cars, trucks, and trains. A related topic
500-486: A challenge to state-sponsored restrictions or taxes on trade. In smuggling, concealment can involve concealing the smuggled goods on a person's clothing, luggage or inside a body cavity. Some smugglers hide the whole transportation vehicle or ship used to bring the items into an area. Avoiding border checks, such as by small ships, private airplanes , through overland smuggling routes, smuggling tunnels and even small submersibles. This also applies for illegally passing
600-502: A few central respects. While "smuggling" refers to facilitating the illegal entry of a person into a State, "trafficking" includes an element of exploitation . The trafficker retains control over the migrant—through force, fraud or coercion—typically in the sex industry, through forced labour or through other practices similar to slavery. Trafficking violates the idea of basic human rights . The overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. These victims are commodities in
700-698: A good or service that is illegal or heavily taxed. As a result, illegal drug trafficking , and the smuggling of weapons ( illegal arms trade ), as well as the historical staples of smuggling, alcohol ( rum-running ) and tobacco , are widespread. As the smuggler faces significant risk of civil and criminal penalties if caught with contraband, smugglers are able to impose a significant price premium on smuggled goods. The profits involved in smuggling goods appear to be extensive. The iron law of prohibition dictates that greater enforcement results in more potent alcohol and drugs being smuggled. Profits also derive from avoiding taxes or levies on imported goods. For example,
800-460: A kind of heroism. It did not have any taint of criminality and the whole of the south coast had pockets vying with one another over whose smugglers were the darkest or most daring. The Smugglers Inn was one of the commonest names for a bar on the coast. In North America , smuggling in colonial times was a reaction to the heavy taxes and regulations imposed by mercantilist trade policies. After American independence in 1783, smuggling developed at
900-449: A large factor in the decision making process. Civil engineers usually use project management techniques for developing a major structure. Understanding the amount of time the project requires, and the amount of labor and materials needed is a crucial part of project planning. The project duration must be identified using a work breakdown structure and critical path method . Also, the land needed for excavation and construction staging, and
1000-1020: A later time after slaughter. Another animal that traffickers have used as body couriers are goats , which they remove drugs from after slaughter. Additionally another animal that has been used by smugglers to transport contraband are sheep . Often times, the traffickers either attach the drugs to the sheep's wool or they insert the drugs inside the sheep to be removed at a later date after slaughter. What type of livestock or pack animals do organized criminals use to carry contraband, often depends on availability and region. For example, in parts of South America, traffickers have used llamas as pack animals to transport drugs across rugged terrain or across borders. In certain parts of Asia, elephants have been used as pack animals to carry large amounts of drugs across wilderness areas or across borders. In Middle Eastern countries, smugglers have also been known to use camels as pack animals to transport drugs across further distances or across borders. In popular perception smuggling
1100-525: A multibillion-dollar global industry. Criminal organizations are choosing to traffic human beings because, unlike other commodities, people can be used repeatedly and because trafficking requires little in terms of capital investment. Smuggling is also reaping huge financial dividends to criminal groups who charge migrants massive fees for their services. Intelligence reports have noted that drug-traffickers and other criminal organizations are switching to human cargo to obtain greater profit with less risk. It
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#17330851944771200-480: A network providing forged documents. In the same month, they dismantled another criminal organization focused on supplying fake documents to migrants in Spain, primarily in the agricultural sector. With regard to people smuggling , a distinction can be made between people smuggling as a service to those wanting to illegally migrate and the involuntary trafficking of people . An estimated 90% of people who illegally crossed
1300-461: A pipe jack, with the span of some box jacks in excess of 20 metres (66 ft). A cutting head is normally used at the front of the box being jacked, and spoil removal is normally by excavator from within the box. Recent developments of the Jacked Arch and Jacked deck have enabled longer and larger structures to be installed to close accuracy. There are also several approaches to underwater tunnels,
1400-413: A proper and complete inspection four to six hours, major global trade routes such as Singapore offer great opportunity for smugglers and traders alike. As the leading Cape Town Customs Official argues, if a shipping port stops and inspects every ship it would cause a total shipping grid lock , which is trade gridlock, which is also economic gridlock . By under-declaring and misrepresenting, even
1500-480: A recognised problem in the 13th century, following the creation of a national customs collection system by Edward I in 1275. Medieval smuggling tended to focus on the export of highly taxed export goods — notably wool and hides. Merchants also, however, sometimes smuggled other goods to circumvent prohibitions or embargoes on particular trades. Grain, for instance, was usually prohibited from export, unless prices were low, because of fears that grain exports would raise
1600-457: A second Ampthill Tunnel was constructed directly alongside, facilitating the Midland Railway's expansion plans of running a quadruple-track arrangement between Kettering and London wherever practical to do so. Both bores have remained active through to the present day. During mid 2012, Ampthill Tunnel was subject to a series of high speed evaluation runs, including a record maximum speed for
1700-458: A significant part of the city's business, with many members of the civic elite engaging in it, whether by disguised/hidden transport or mis-description of goods. Grain smuggling by members of the civic elite, often working closely with corrupt customs officers, has also been shown to have been prevalent in East Anglia during the later 16th century. In England wool was smuggled to the continent in
1800-544: A smuggler might purchase a large quantity of cigarettes in a place with low taxes and smuggle them into a place with higher taxes, where they can be sold at a far higher margin than would otherwise be possible. It has been reported that smuggling one truckload of cigarettes within the United States can lead to a profit of US$ 2 million. In October 2023, Spanish police arrested 11 individuals involved in smuggling migrants hidden in trucks at Algeciras sea border, connected to
1900-421: A specialized method called clay-kicking for digging tunnels in clay-based soils. The clay-kicker lies on a plank at a 45-degree angle away from the working face and rather than a mattock with his hands, inserts with his feet a tool with a cup-like rounded end, then turns the tool with his hands to extract a section of soil, which is then placed on the waste extract. Clay-kicking is a specialized method developed in
2000-438: A speed of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h); the tunnel was closely monitored by engineers to evaluate the effects of the pressure waves generated by the train's speed run. Having found the conditions imposed acceptable, numerous stretches of the line were cleared for trains to regularly run at the elevated maximum speed of 125 mph, including Ampthill Tunnel. Tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It
2100-457: A study by Alternatives to Combat Child Labour Through Education and Sustainable Services in the Middle East and North Africa Region (ACCESS-MENA) 30% of school children living in border villages of Yemen had been smuggled into Saudi Arabia . Child trafficking is commonly referenced as "transporting". Smuggled children were in danger of being sexually abused or even killed. Poverty is one of
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#17330851944772200-434: A tube can be sunk into a body of water, which is called an immersed tunnel. Cut-and-cover is a simple method of construction for shallow tunnels where a trench is excavated and roofed over with an overhead support system strong enough to carry the load of what is to be built above the tunnel. There are two basic forms of cut-and-cover tunnelling: Shallow tunnels are often of the cut-and-cover type (if under water, of
2300-710: A tunnel than a sufficiently strong bridge). Some water crossings are a mixture of bridges and tunnels, such as the Denmark to Sweden link and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia . There are particular hazards with tunnels, especially from vehicle fires when combustion gases can asphyxiate users, as happened at the Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland in 2001. One of the worst railway disasters ever,
2400-432: A tunnel. Bridges usually require a larger footprint on each shore than tunnels. In areas with expensive real estate, such as Manhattan and urban Hong Kong , this is a strong factor in favor of a tunnel. Boston's Big Dig project replaced elevated roadways with a tunnel system to increase traffic capacity, hide traffic, reclaim land, redecorate, and reunite the city with the waterfront. The 1934 Queensway Tunnel under
2500-424: Is acknowledged that the smuggling of people is a growing global phenomenon. It is a transnational crime . Currently, economic instability appears to be the main reason for illegal migration movement throughout the world. Nevertheless, many of the willing migrants undertake the hazardous travel to their destination country with criminal syndicates specialized in people smuggling. These syndicates arrange everything for
2600-403: Is allowed in this tunnel tube, and motorcyclists are directed to the other tube. Each level was built with a three-lane roadway, but only two lanes per level are used – the third serves as a hard shoulder within the tunnel. The A86 Duplex is Europe's longest double-deck tunnel. Smuggling There are various motivations to smuggle. These include the participation in illegal trade, such as in
2700-480: Is critically important as an incentive for smuggling. This price disparity is caused by domestic consumption-taxes and import duties. Drawing attention to the case of cigarettes, Chowdhury suggested that, in Bangladesh , smuggling of cigarettes reduced the level of domestic production. Domestic production of cigarettes is subject to value added tax (VAT) and other consumption tax . Reduction of domestic taxes enables
2800-454: Is defined as international trade through 'unauthorized route'. A seaport, airport or land port which has not been authorized by the government for importation and exportation is an 'unauthorized route'. The legal definition of these occurs in the Customs Act of the country. Notably, some definitions define any 'undeclared' trafficking of currency and precious metal as smuggling. Smuggling is
2900-496: Is due to the fact that felines are naturally stealthy animals and because the prison guards are often less likely to suspect that contraband might be on a cat. Additionally smugglers have also used homing pigeons to transport contraband by air at times. Carrier pigeons have been used to smuggle drugs into prisons and across borders. Additionally homing pigeons have also been used to transport cellphones and SIM cards into prisons. The reason why pigeons have been useful for smugglers,
3000-502: Is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ventilation openings at various points along the length. A pipeline differs significantly from a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic , for rail traffic, or for
3100-646: Is illegally passing a border oneself as a stowaway . The high level of duty levied on alcohol and tobacco in Britain has led to large-scale smuggling from France to the UK through the Channel Tunnel . The combination of acknowledged corruption at the border and high import tariffs led smugglers in the 1970s and '80s to fly electronic equipment such as stereos and televisions in cargo planes from one country to clandestine landing strips in another, thereby circumventing encounters at
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3200-500: Is intended to carry both the Istanbul metro and a two-level highway, over a length of 6.5 km (4.0 miles). The French A86 Duplex Tunnel [ fr ] in west Paris consists of two bored tunnel tubes, the eastern one of which has two levels for light motorized vehicles, over a length of 10 km (6.2 miles). Although each level offers a physical height of 2.54 m (8.3 ft), only traffic up to 2 m (6.6 ft) tall
3300-487: Is relatively long and narrow; the length is often much greater than twice the diameter , although similar shorter excavations can be constructed, such as cross passages between tunnels. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel can vary widely from source to source. For example, in the United Kingdom, a road tunnel is defined as "a subsurface highway structure enclosed for a length of 150 metres (490 ft) or more." In
3400-401: Is sometimes necessary during the excavation of a tunnel. They are usually circular and go straight down until they reach the level at which the tunnel is going to be built. A shaft normally has concrete walls and is usually built to be permanent. Once the access shafts are complete, TBMs are lowered to the bottom and excavation can start. Shafts are the main entrance in and out of the tunnel until
3500-416: Is synonymous with illegal trade. Even social scientists have misconstrued smuggling as illegal trade. While the two have indeed identical objectives, namely the evasion of taxes and the importation of contraband items, their demand and cost functions are altogether different requiring different analytical framework. As a result, illegal trade through customs stations is differently considered, and smuggling
3600-515: Is that the open building pit is muted after tunnel construction; no roof is placed. Some tunnels are double-deck, for example, the two major segments of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (completed in 1936) are linked by a 160-metre (540 ft) double-deck tunnel section through Yerba Buena Island , the largest-diameter bored tunnel in the world. At construction this was a combination bidirectional rail and truck pathway on
3700-424: Is that they can fly for long distances and because the birds are usually unlikely to arouse much suspicion from authorities, due to the fact that pigeons are such widespread and commonly witnessed birds, in both rural and urban areas. Smugglers have also been known to transport contraband with the use of livestock . One such example is the use of horses , donkeys , mules and ponies . The traffickers often strap
3800-673: Is the Siloam Tunnel , built in Jerusalem by the kings of Judah around the 8th century BC. Another tunnel excavated from both ends, maybe the second known, is the Tunnel of Eupalinos , which is a tunnel aqueduct 1,036 m (3,400 ft) long running through Mount Kastro in Samos , Greece. It was built in the 6th century BC to serve as an aqueduct . In Ethiopia , the Siqurto foot tunnel , hand-hewn in
3900-556: The Balvano train disaster , was caused by a train stalling in the Armi tunnel in Italy in 1944, killing 426 passengers. Designers try to reduce these risks by installing emergency ventilation systems or isolated emergency escape tunnels parallel to the main passage. Government funds are often required for the creation of tunnels. When a tunnel is being planned or constructed, economics and politics play
4000-464: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was not aware of this bill and had not asked for a grant for such a project. Increased taxes to finance a large project may cause opposition. Tunnels are dug in types of materials varying from soft clay to hard rock. The method of tunnel construction depends on such factors as the ground conditions, the groundwater conditions, the length and diameter of
4100-797: The Queens-Midtown Tunnel between Manhattan and the borough of Queens on Long Island ; the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel between Michigan and Ontario ; and the Elizabeth River tunnels between Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia ; the 1934 River Mersey road Queensway Tunnel ; the Western Scheldt Tunnel , Zeeland, Netherlands; and the North Shore Connector tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . The Sydney Harbour Tunnel
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4200-466: The River Mersey at Liverpool was chosen over a massively high bridge partly for defense reasons; it was feared that aircraft could destroy a bridge in times of war, not merely impairing road traffic but blocking the river to navigation. Maintenance costs of a massive bridge to allow the world's largest ships to navigate under were considered higher than for a tunnel. Similar conclusions were reached for
4300-542: The Roosevelt Reservation along the United States-Mexico Border . Smuggling revived in the 1920s during Prohibition , and drug smuggling became a major problem after 1970. In the 1990s, when economic sanctions were imposed on Serbia , a large percent of the population lived off smuggling petrol and consumer goods from neighboring countries. The state unofficially allowed this to continue or otherwise
4400-665: The United Kingdom of digging tunnels in strong clay-based soil structures. This method of cut and cover construction required relatively little disturbance of property during the renewal of the United Kingdom's then ancient sewerage systems. It was also used during the First World War by Royal Engineer tunnelling companies placing mines beneath German lines, because it was almost silent and so not susceptible to listening methods of detection. Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and associated back-up systems are used to highly automate
4500-591: The canton of Glarus . The borehole has a diameter of 8.03 metres (26.3 ft). The four TBMs used for excavating the 57-kilometre (35 mi) Gotthard Base Tunnel , in Switzerland , had a diameter of about 9 metres (30 ft). A larger TBM was built to bore the Green Heart Tunnel (Dutch: Tunnel Groene Hart) as part of the HSL-Zuid in the Netherlands, with a diameter of 14.87 metres (48.8 ft). This in turn
4600-656: The drug trade , illegal weapons trade , prostitution , human trafficking , kidnapping , heists , chop shops , illegal immigration or illegal emigration , tax evasion , import restrictions , export restrictions , providing contraband to prison inmates, or the theft of the items being smuggled. Smuggling is a common theme in literature, from Bizet 's opera Carmen to the James Bond spy books (and later films) Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger . The verb smuggle , from Low German smuggeln or Dutch smokkelen (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently
4700-486: The water table . This pressurizes the ground ahead of the TBM cutter head to balance the water pressure. The operators work in normal air pressure behind the pressurized compartment, but may occasionally have to enter that compartment to renew or repair the cutters. This requires special precautions, such as local ground treatment or halting the TBM at a position free from water. Despite these difficulties, TBMs are now preferred over
4800-689: The 16th century as a metaphor for a narrow, confined space like the inside of a cask. Some of the earliest tunnels used by humans were paleoburrows excavated by prehistoric mammals. Much of the early technology of tunneling evolved from mining and military engineering . The etymology of the terms "mining" (for mineral extraction or for siege attacks ), " military engineering ", and " civil engineering " reveals these deep historic connections. Predecessors of modern tunnels were adits that transported water for irrigation , drinking, or sewerage . The first qanats are known from before 2000 BC. The earliest tunnel known to have been excavated from both ends
4900-671: The 17th century, under the pressure of high excise taxes . In 1724 Daniel Defoe wrote of Lymington , Hampshire, on the south coast of England I do not find they have any foreign commerce, except it be what we call smuggling and roguing; which I may say, is the reigning commerce of all this part of the English coast, from the mouth of the Thames to the Land's End in Cornwall. The high rates of duty levied on tea and also wine and spirits, and other luxury goods coming in from mainland Europe at this time made
5000-638: The 1960s. The main idea of this method is to use the geological stress of the surrounding rock mass to stabilize the tunnel, by allowing a measured relaxation and stress reassignment into the surrounding rock to prevent full loads becoming imposed on the supports. Based on geotechnical measurements, an optimal cross section is computed. The excavation is protected by a layer of sprayed concrete, commonly referred to as shotcrete . Other support measures can include steel arches, rock bolts, and mesh. Technological developments in sprayed concrete technology have resulted in steel and polypropylene fibers being added to
5100-687: The 1971 Kingsway Tunnel under the Mersey. In Hampton Roads, Virginia , tunnels were chosen over bridges for strategic considerations; in the event of damage, bridges might prevent US Navy vessels from leaving Naval Station Norfolk . Water-crossing tunnels built instead of bridges include the Seikan Tunnel in Japan; the Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City ;
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#17330851944775200-691: The Middle Ages, crosses a mountain ridge. In the Gaza Strip , the network of tunnels was used by Jewish strategists as rock-cut shelters, in first links to Judean resistance against Roman rule in the Bar Kokhba revolt during the 2nd century AD. A major tunnel project must start with a comprehensive investigation of ground conditions by collecting samples from boreholes and by other geophysical techniques. An informed choice can then be made of machinery and methods for excavation and ground support, which will reduce
5300-581: The United States, the NFPA definition of a tunnel is "An underground structure with a design length greater than 23 m (75 ft) and a diameter greater than 1,800 millimetres (5.9 ft)." The word "tunnel" comes from the Middle English tonnelle , meaning "a net", derived from Old French tonnel , a diminutive of tonne ("cask"). The modern meaning, referring to an underground passageway, evolved in
5400-503: The University of Bristol states that they only detail the activities of those dumb enough to get caught. This has led him and others, such as Prof. H. V. Bowen of the University of Swansea to use commercial records to reconstruct smuggling businesses. Jones' study focuses on smuggling in Bristol in the mid-16th century, arguing that the illicit export of goods like grain and leather represented
5500-407: The authorities. One way that smugglers have used animals to transport contraband at times is through the use of dogs . Often smugglers have been known to strap drugs onto the backs of canine and then use such dogs as pack animals to transport the contraband across further distances or across borders. Another way smugglers have used to transport contraband on multiple occasions is cats . Usually
5600-400: The blocky nature of rocks, the exact location of fault zones, or the stand-up times of softer ground. This may be a particular concern in large-diameter tunnels. To give more information, a pilot tunnel (or "drift tunnel") may be driven ahead of the main excavation. This smaller tunnel is less likely to collapse catastrophically should unexpected conditions be met, and it can be incorporated into
5700-681: The border between Mexico and the United States are believed to have paid a smuggler to lead them across. People smuggling can be used to rescue a person from oppressive circumstances. For example, when the Southern United States allowed slavery , many slaves moved north via the Underground Railroad . Similarly, during the Holocaust , Jewish people were smuggled out of Germany by people such as Algoth Niska . Trafficking of human beings — sometimes called human trafficking or, in
5800-570: The case of sexual services, sex trafficking — is not the same as people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, and on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is coerced in some way. Victims do not agree to be trafficked; they are tricked, lured by false promises, or forced into it. Traffickers use coercive tactics including deception , fraud , intimidation , isolation , physical threats and use of force, debt bondage or even force-feeding drugs to control their victims. While
5900-526: The cats are used to sneak drugs into prisons , where prison gangs can then sell the drugs to other inmates. Often a smuggler from the outside will attach small amounts of drugs to a cat and then the cat will either be lured inside the prison by inmates with cat treats or the cat might be trained to enter the prison. In addition to drugs, cats have also been used to smuggle other kinds of contraband into prison such as cellphones , tools, batteries and phone chargers. The reason why cats can make good drug couriers
6000-414: The cheapest possible rate. What the majority of people do not realize, is that the media and popular culture focus on criminal organizations as primary smugglers, but in reality legitimate businesses are the biggest offenders. By incorporating their label on merchandise or products, it leaves bias towards their goods as the popular media portrays them as reliable. Smuggling, however, is produced through
6100-462: The clandestine import of such goods and the evasion of the duty a highly profitable venture for impoverished fishermen and seafarers. In certain parts of the country such as the Romney Marsh , East Kent , Cornwall and East Cleveland , the smuggling industry was for many communities more economically significant than legal activities such as farming and fishing. The principal reason for the high duty
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#17330851944776200-498: The concrete mix to improve lining strength. This creates a natural load-bearing ring, which minimizes the rock's deformation . By special monitoring the NATM method is flexible, even at surprising changes of the geomechanical rock consistency during the tunneling work. The measured rock properties lead to appropriate tools for tunnel strengthening . In pipe jacking , hydraulic jacks are used to push specially made pipes through
6300-528: The cost of smuggling and thus render smuggling uncompetitive. Notably, Chowdhury modeled the relationship of the smuggler to the local producer as one of antagonistic duopoly . On the other hand, research by Tat Chee Tsui in 2016 suggests that even if increasing cigarette duty may encourage smuggling, total cigarette-consumption still declines because the price of illicit goods, as substitutes of taxed cigarettes, also increases because of higher tax rate. One economic view sees smuggling as monopoly -busting - as
6400-546: The demand for exotic species and the lucrative nature of the trade. The CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulates the movement of endangered wildlife across political borders. Research on smuggling as economic phenomenon is scant. Jagdish Bhagwati and Bent Hansen first forwarded a theory of smuggling in which they saw smuggling essentially as an import-substituting economic activity. Their main consideration, however,
6500-424: The drugs or the drugs are surgically implanted inside the animals before they are herded to another destination, at a later date when the animals are slaughtered for their meat , the drugs are then removed and given to associates. One such example is the use of cattle . Cattle have been used as 'body couriers' to transport contraband in multiple ways, often by inserting the drugs into the cattle, to be removed at
6600-539: The edges of the United States at places like Passamaquoddy Bay , St. Mary's in Georgia , Lake Champlain , and Louisiana . During Thomas Jefferson 's embargo of 1807-1809 , these same places became the primary places where goods were smuggled out of the nation in defiance of the law. Like Britain, a gradual liberalization of trade laws as part of the free trade movement meant less smuggling. in 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt tried to cut down on smuggling by establishing
6700-444: The entire economy would have collapsed. In modern times, as many first-world countries have struggled to contain a rising influx of immigrants, the smuggling of people across national borders has become a lucrative extra-legal activity, as well as the extremely dark side, people-trafficking, especially of women who may be enslaved typically as prostitutes. Much smuggling occurs when enterprising merchants attempt to supply demand for
6800-409: The entire tunnelling process, reducing tunnelling costs. In certain predominantly urban applications, tunnel boring is viewed as a quick and cost-effective alternative to laying surface rails and roads. Expensive compulsory purchase of buildings and land, with potentially lengthy planning inquiries, is eliminated. Disadvantages of TBMs arise from their usually large size – the difficulty of transporting
6900-441: The final tunnel or used as a backup or emergency escape passage. Alternatively, horizontal boreholes may sometimes be drilled ahead of the advancing tunnel face. Other key geotechnical factors: For water crossings, a tunnel is generally more costly to construct than a bridge. However, both navigational and traffic considerations may limit the use of high bridges or drawbridges intersecting with shipping channels, necessitating
7000-432: The frontier between countries. For illegally passing a border oneself, another method is with a false passport (completely fake, or illegally changed, or the passport of a lookalike). At Border checkpoints , especially for shipping cargo, Border agents must inspect cargo for smuggled and illegal goods. However, because of what is called Gridlock a maximum of 5% inspections per cargo holds worldwide. Since it can take
7100-405: The ground behind a TBM or shield. This method is commonly used to create tunnels under existing structures, such as roads or railways. Tunnels constructed by pipe jacking are normally small diameter bores with a maximum size of around 3.2 metres (10 ft). Box jacking is similar to pipe jacking, but instead of jacking tubes, a box-shaped tunnel is used. Jacked boxes can be a much larger span than
7200-433: The illicit goods to the packhorses pack saddle , so that the animal can carry more loads of contraband further and across more rugged terrain then a human courier. In addition to Packhorses, Smugglers have also been known to transport contraband with the use of horse-drawn vehicles . Additionally there are also livestock that smugglers have used as living body couriers, in such instances the animals are either made to swallow
7300-636: The immersed-tube type), while deep tunnels are excavated, often using a tunnelling shield . For intermediate levels, both methods are possible. Large cut-and-cover boxes are often used for underground metro stations, such as Canary Wharf tube station in London. This construction form generally has two levels, which allows economical arrangements for ticket hall, station platforms, passenger access and emergency egress, ventilation and smoke control, staff rooms, and equipment rooms. The interior of Canary Wharf station has been likened to an underground cathedral, owing to
7400-435: The inevitable smoke and steam. A major disadvantage of cut-and-cover is the widespread disruption generated at the surface level during construction. This, and the availability of electric traction, brought about London Underground's switch to bored tunnels at a deeper level towards the end of the 19th century. Prior to the replacement of manual excavation by the use of boring machines, Victorian tunnel excavators developed
7500-468: The large TBM to the site of tunnel construction, or (alternatively) the high cost of assembling the TBM on-site, often within the confines of the tunnel being constructed. There are a variety of TBM designs that can operate in a variety of conditions, from hard rock to soft water-bearing ground. Some TBMs, the bentonite slurry and earth-pressure balance types, have pressurized compartments at the front end, allowing them to be used in difficult conditions below
7600-427: The local producer to supply at a lower cost and bring down the price disparity that encourages smuggling. However, Chowdhury suggested that there is a limit beyond which reducing domestic taxes on production cannot confer a competitive advantage versus smuggled cigarettes. Therefore, government needs to upscale its anti-smuggling drive so that seizures (taking possession of person or property by legal process) can add to
7700-607: The lower deck with automobiles above, now converted to one-way road vehicle traffic on each deck. In Turkey, the Eurasia Tunnel under the Bosphorus , opened in 2016, has at its core a 5.4 km (3.4 miles) two-deck road tunnel with two lanes on each deck. Additionally, in 2015 the Turkish government announced that it will build three -level tunnel, also under the Bosporus. The tunnel
7800-435: The majority of victims are women, and sometimes children, other victims include men, women and children forced or conned into manual or cheap labor. Due to the illegal nature of trafficking, the exact extent is unknown. A U.S. government report published in 2003 estimates that 800,000-900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year. This figure does not include those who are trafficked internally. According to
7900-465: The migrants, but at a high price. Very often the traveling conditions are inhumane: the migrants are overcrowded in trucks or boats and fatal accidents occur frequently. After their arrival in the destination country, their illegal status puts them at the mercy of their smugglers, which often force the migrants to work for years in the illegal labor market to pay off the debts incurred as a result of their transportation. Wildlife smuggling results from
8000-506: The most surprising goods is common practice when smuggling. What popular culture does not communicate, is that illegal drugs and arms are not the bane of customs officers and the ultimate threat to their economy. In reality, the most commonly smuggled items are everyday items one believes to be common and thus causes higher losses in tax revenue . An anonymous shipping agent said that smuggling becomes second nature to businessmen, taking finished products and misrepresenting them to offer
8100-483: The older method of tunnelling in compressed air, with an airlock/decompression chamber some way back from the TBM, which required operators to work in high pressure and go through decompression procedures at the end of their shifts, much like deep-sea divers . In February 2010, Aker Wirth delivered a TBM to Switzerland, for the expansion of the Linth–Limmern Power Stations located south of Linthal in
8200-542: The operating line, the additional tunnel was instead entirely excavated from three shafts that were sunk from above. The completed second tunnel had a length of 717 yards (656 m); this was slightly shorter than the original tunnel, which reportedly possessed a length of 759 yards (694 m). On 1 July 2012, a new record maximum speed for the Midland Main Line was established by a British Rail Class 222 diesel multiple unit (DMU), which traversed Ampthill Tunnel at
8300-540: The operation of empty and loaded trains at the same time. The temporary way is replaced by the permanent way at completion, thus explaining the term " Perway ". The vehicles or traffic using a tunnel can outgrow it, requiring replacement or enlargement: An open building pit consists of a horizontal and a vertical boundary that keeps groundwater and soil out of the pit. There are several potential alternatives and combinations for (horizontal and vertical) building pit boundaries. The most important difference with cut-and-cover
8400-535: The price of food in England and thus cause food shortages and civil unrest. Following the loss of Gascony to the French in 1453, imports of wine were also sometimes embargoed during wars to try to deprive the French of the revenues that could be earned from their main export. Most studies of historical smuggling have been based on official sources — such as court records, or the letters of Revenue Officers. A senior academic of
8500-510: The project is completed. If a tunnel is going to be long, multiple shafts at various locations may be bored so that entrance to the tunnel is closer to the unexcavated area. Once construction is complete, construction access shafts are often used as ventilation shafts , and may also be used as emergency exits. The New Austrian Tunnelling method (NATM)—also referred to as the Sequential Excavation Method (SEM) —was developed in
8600-485: The proper machinery must be selected. Large infrastructure projects require millions or even billions of dollars, involving long-term financing, usually through issuance of bonds . The costs and benefits for an infrastructure such as a tunnel must be identified. Political disputes can occur, as in 2005 when the US House of Representatives approved a $ 100 million federal grant to build a tunnel under New York Harbor. However,
8700-724: The reasons behind child trafficking and some children are smuggled with their parents' consent via a transporter. As many as 50% of those smuggled are children. In the Philippines, between 60,000 and 100,000 children are trafficked to work in the sex industry. Each year, hundreds of thousands of migrants are moved illegally by highly organized international smuggling and trafficking groups , often in dangerous or inhumane conditions. This phenomenon has been growing in recent years as people of low income countries are aspiring to enter developed countries in search of jobs. Migrant smuggling and human trafficking are two separate offences and differ in
8800-482: The risk of encountering unforeseen ground conditions. In planning the route, the horizontal and vertical alignments can be selected to make use of the best ground and water conditions. It is common practice to locate a tunnel deeper than otherwise would be required, in order to excavate through solid rock or other material that is easier to support during construction. Conventional desk and preliminary site studies may yield insufficient information to assess such factors as
8900-456: The route of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h); in the following year, the line speeds were increased to 125 mph along much of the Midland Main Line. The Ampthill Tunnel was constructed during the early 1860s on behalf of the Midland Railway to convey what would become the Midland Main Line . It was necessary to traverse a hill on the outskirts of the town of Ampthill , the summit of which
9000-465: The same shipment. MCC shipments were frequently associated with Phase II and Phase III smuggling organizations . In addition to human couriers, smugglers have been known to transport illicit goods with the use of trained animals . One advantage to smugglers using animals is that unlike human couriers, who might turn state's evidence if caught, an animal courier, if caught with any contraband on them, would be unable to provide any verbal information to
9100-528: The sheer size of the excavation. This contrasts with many traditional stations on London Underground , where bored tunnels were used for stations and passenger access. Nevertheless, the original parts of the London Underground network, the Metropolitan and District Railways, were constructed using cut-and-cover. These lines pre-dated electric traction and the proximity to the surface was useful to ventilate
9200-400: The tunnel drive, the depth of the tunnel, the logistics of supporting the tunnel excavation, the final use and the shape of the tunnel and appropriate risk management. There are three basic types of tunnel construction in common use. Cut-and-cover tunnels are constructed in a shallow trench and then covered over. Bored tunnels are constructed in situ, without removing the ground above. Finally,
9300-428: The two most common being bored tunnels or immersed tubes , examples are Bjørvika Tunnel and Marmaray . Submerged floating tunnels are a novel approach under consideration; however, no such tunnels have been constructed to date. During construction of a tunnel it is often convenient to install a temporary railway, particularly to remove excavated spoil , often narrow gauge so that it can be double track to allow
9400-537: The very culture of the shipping industry and is affected by institutionalized tariffs and taxes around the world. The existence of the Multi-Consignment Contraband (MCC) smuggling method (smuggling two or more different types of contraband such as drugs and illegal immigrants or drugs and guns at the same time) was verified following the completion of a study that found 16 documented cases of smugglers transporting more than one type of contraband in
9500-566: Was constructed to provide a second harbour crossing and to alleviate traffic congestion on the Sydney Harbour Bridge , without spoiling the iconic view. Other reasons for choosing a tunnel instead of a bridge include avoiding difficulties with tides, weather, and shipping during construction (as in the 51.5-kilometre or 32.0-mile Channel Tunnel ), aesthetic reasons (preserving the above-ground view, landscape, and scenery), and also for weight capacity reasons (it may be more feasible to build
9600-443: Was reported to be 88 yards (80 m) above the level of the railway. The local geology that the tunnel was bored through, which largely consisted of Oxford clay , was found to contain numerous fossils ; a number of these were recovered during the excavations for the tunnel and subsequently studied. By the 1890s, company officials had recognised that, due to a lack of free capacity for running further services, an expansion programme
9700-408: Was required for the Midland Main Line, which primarily involved its widening from two tracks to four along much of the route between Kettering and London . In accordance with this policy, between June 1893 and 1895, a second Ampthill Tunnel was constructed alongside the first bore. As it was determined to be impracticable to drive a bore between the faces due to the lengthy cuttings on either side for
9800-701: Was superseded by the Madrid M30 ringroad , Spain, and the Chong Ming tunnels in Shanghai , China. All of these machines were built at least partly by Herrenknecht . As of August 2013 , the world's largest TBM was " Big Bertha ", a 17.5-metre (57.5 ft) diameter machine built by Hitachi Zosen Corporation , which dug the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel in Seattle, Washington (US). A temporary access shaft
9900-493: Was the need for the government to finance a number of extremely expensive wars with France and the United States. Before the era of drug smuggling and human trafficking, smuggling had acquired a kind of nostalgic romanticism, in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson 's Kidnapped : Few places on the British coast did not claim to be the haunts of wreckers or mooncussers. The thievery was boasted about and romanticized until it seemed
10000-418: Was the welfare implications of smuggling. Against common belief that the private sector is more efficient than the public sector , they showed that smuggling might not enhance social welfare though it may divert resources from governments to the private sector. In contrast, Faizul Latif Chowdhury , in 1999, suggested a production-substituting model of smuggling in which price disparity due to cost of supply
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