You're reading: RFE/RL: Slovak authorities seize 700 kilograms of smuggled amber from Ukraine

RFE/RL: Slovak authorities seize 700 kilograms of smuggled amber from Ukraine

By Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Published Nov. 19, 2019 at 12:07 pm

A man looks at religious icons made with amber in an amber shop in Rivne, northwestern Ukraine, on September 21, 2017. - Volodymyr Korkosh steps on the accelerator and his jeep lurches forward, jumping through deep water-filled ditches. "We often come too late by just 2-3 minutes," the police officer shouts in disappointment. His unit carries out daily raids on the outskirts of the village of Kryvytsya and nearby settlements in northwestern Ukraine's Rivne region, aimed at catching locals red-handed mining amber illegally.

Photo by AFP

Slovak authorities have detained four Ukrainians who allegedly smuggled more than $722,000 worth of raw amber into the country.

A combined stash of nearly 700 kilograms of the semiprecious gemstone was found in the trunks of three vehicles with Ukrainian license plates on November 12, the criminal service of the Slovak Financial Department told state-run TASR news agency last weekend.