Smugglers

          The lone boat with two boatmen could barely be seen as it drifted down the river. The only sound that came from it was the chugging of the motor. The two men wore vests and khaki shorts. There was bait sticking out from their pockets. Next to them were two pails filled with fish. Anyone who saw them would immediately think that they were fishermen on their way home after a rewarding fishing trip. No one would have guessed that there was a secret compartment at the bottom of the rocky boat.

 

          The boat chugged towards a clearing in the embankment. With the dense bushes surrounding the place, every part looked the same but the boatmen knew exactly where to stop. Slowing down, they threw in the anchor and two burly men appeared out of nowhere, pulled the boat towards a short wooden walkway. After securing the boat to a post, the two men boarded the boat and walked towards the deck. There was no need for pleasantries. Each party seemed to know what the other party wanted. Bending down to release a catch, one of the boatmen opened a secret door and climbed down a flight of stairs. In a moment, he was out again with a box in his hands. Handing it to the two men, he went down for another box. By the time he was done, there were five similar boxes on the floor.

 

          Tearing open one of the boxes, the men checked the contents and nodded in approval. The boxes were filled with packets of contraband cigarettes. They would fetch a high price. Handing over a suitcase with wads of thousand-dollar notes, the two men shook hands with the boatmen. Then the boxes were carried off the boat and the boat continued on its journey as though nothing had taken place. Everyone was contented, knowing that the coastguards had not been tipped off about the exchange.

 

          However, a distance away, a young boy was holding a mobile phone which the coastguard had given him. He pressed the numbers for the direct line that he had been given. The voice on the other line listened to him and told him that he had done a good job. As the men went on their way, they were unaware of the police officers who were waiting for them near their lorry where they planned to load the contraband cigarettes. A coastguard vessel was waiting just round a bend, camouflaged in the darkness, ready to stop the fishing boat once it was near enough.

 

427 words

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