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A Swiss border guard takes up his observation post on the slopes above Lugano in Ticino. © RDB/Schleiniger

The baskets the smugglers carried on their backs were made of jute sacks and weighed 25-30 kilos when full. © RDB/Schleiniger

To avoid making too much noise, the smugglers wore a kind of hiking boot made of jute sack material. © RDB/Schleiniger

They took the most impassable paths through the mountains as a way of avoiding the Italian tax police. © RDB/Schleiniger

Shoes made from jute sacks. © RDB/Schleiniger

A smuggler takes a break to remove the mud from his shoes. © RDB/Schleiniger

Smugglers were often admired by the population for their courage and initiative. © RDB/Schleiniger

Sometimes the smugglers had to abandon their wares as they tried to evade capture. © RDB/Schleiniger

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Smuggling cigarettes over the Italy-Switzerland border.

From the post-war era to the beginning of the 1970s, cigarette smuggling was one the most flourishing trades in the border area between the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino and Italy. Smugglers often trudged long distances over difficult terrain to escape the Italian tax police. (Photos: RDB/Schleiniger)