Estonian customs detained a truck with a trailer with a batch of ball bearings at the border with Russia, which fall under sanctions due to the possibility of use in the defense industry. This is reported by the ERR portal with reference to the press service of the Tax and Customs Department (NTD) of the republic.

The driver had documents allowing him to cross the border, but the staff suspected that the goods could be banned from import. After checking, it was found that the cargo contained 7841 ball bearings, 215 ball bearing covers, as well as 2106 other bearings. They are used in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, automation and for military needs.

According to the head of the field of activity at the external border of the NTD, Ants Kutti, this is the first identified attempt to bring ball bearings to Russia since the introduction of sanctions. We have not yet tried to declare cargo of this nature.

At the end of May, it became known that in the first quarter of 2023, the production of wagons in Russia fell by 16 percent year-on-year. The output of innovative railcars sank the most — minus 51 percent compared to the same period last year. Experts call the shortage of cassette bearings the main reason.