Moscow, Sept. 18 : Russian customs chiefs have uncovered an underwater pipeline that was being used to smuggle cheap vodka from Russia into the European Union.

The mile-long channel was being used to pump vodka into Estonian capital Tallinn. It ran from the Russian border beneath a reservoir and into the Estonian town of Narva.

Eleven suspects have been charged over the scam. Four ethnic Russians are believed to have been the ringleaders.

All face five years in prison if convicted when the trial begins.

Prices of vodka in Russia are a third cheaper than in the ex-Soviet state of Estonia, which has been in the EU since May 2004.

Investigators are still trying to establish how much sold on the black market. (ANI)