Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images 
World

When Smugglers Lend A Helping Hand To The Government

BySwarajya Staff

When governments fails to provide basic necessities such as nice and smooth roads, maybe it is the profit-minded criminals who come to the public’s rescue.

Usually the image of a smuggler is that of someone who is a dedicated lawbreaker and the cause of nuisance for the public and government. But are there any exceptions? Can smugglers lend a helping hand to the government of the day?

As it says in this report in the The Moscow Times, smugglers may help if it profits them. According to the report, a gang of smugglers trafficking goods into Russia have secretly repaired a road on the Belarussian border in order to advance their business.

The contrabandists travelled on a gravel road from Minsk to Moscow, widened it and added more turning points to increase access for their heavy goods trucks. The concerned road, connecting Moscow to Minsk, is used by smugglers to avoid official customs posts.

However, the road is now under official surveillance. Local border guards and officials have checked over 73,000 vehicles entering Russia from Belarus this year, with an increase in the number of heavy goods vehicles crossing the border from Belarus since last year.

When governments fails to provide basic necessities such as nice and smooth roads, maybe it is the criminals who come to the public’s rescue.