Gaza's criminal cartels are using hand-dug, secret tunnels that serve as supply lines through the ruptured border to Egypt, one of a handful of illegal links to the outside world.

CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer recently got a firsthand tour of the underground network that runs along the 14-kilometre frontier that Egypt shares with Gaza.

Under the cover of darkness she was guided to the dark, secret corridors that provide a link to Egypt and serve as a conduit for everything from weapons to drugs, cigarettes and even people.

In most cases they are no larger than 1-metre across, and can stretch up to a kilometre in length.

For people who need to use the lines to escape, or enter, Gaza, the price tag can be as high as $10,000 depending on how important they are.

Dozens of the tunnels are thought to be in use along the 12-kilometre section of border, despite the dangers of using the home-made conduits.

It is stifling hot in the tunnels. There is little to no air circulation. The smugglers are having to dig tunnels deeper and further to avoid being detected.

Many of the tunnel entrances turn up hidden in bedroom closets or animal pens all over Rafah -- but Egyptian authorities are busily trying to stop the flow of illegal goods and people across the border, partly in an attempt to allay international pressure from countries such as Israel and the U.S.

Weaponry from Egypt is considered a major source of the missiles that are lobbed into Israel from the region. And the tunnels, or others like them, helped Hamas arm itself in order to seize control of Gaza.

The Gaza/Egypt border is the only land connection between Gaza and the rest of the world not controlled by Israel, and is vital to the West's attempts to isolate the militant Hamas group within Gaza.

Egypt pressured to stop flow

Ever since Hamas seized control of Gaza in June, Egypt has been under stepped-up pressure to put a stop to this underground connection.

But Egypt says it can't solve the problem on its own, and has called for help from the U.S. and Israel, asking for more equipment to track the tunnels and money to deploy guards.

"We can't stop all smuggling. We need more machines, we need double the number of border guards," Egyptian army Col. Amr Mamdouh told reporters recently.

"Anywhere you stamp your foot on the ground, you will find tunnels," he said, according to The Associated Press.

The U.S. and Israel have accused Egypt of not doing enough to stop smuggling. The U.S. House of Representatives even proposed cutting US$200 million of military aid to Egypt unless it improves border security.

But Egyptian military officials said last month that smuggling through the tunnels has dropped significantly since Hamas took control.

"Smuggling is down. Hamas is controlling the line better than Fatah," said Mamdouh. "Hamas wants to show the world that it is in control."

Egypt has considered a plan to demolish all houses within about 100 metres of the border to prevent them from being used to hide tunnels, but the plan has angered Bedouins in Rafah who have staged major demonstrations against the demolitions.

With a report from CTV's Middle East Bureau Chief Janis Mackey Frayer on the border of Gaza and Egypt