WARSAW, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) - A 30-kilometre (48-mile) queue of lorries jammed a key Polish border crossing into Ukraine Tuesday as understaffed Polish customs services failed to keep up with traffic on the Schengen border point.

'There is currently a 60-hour wait to cross the border. Customs agents are taking holidays, some are even quitting their jobs over low wages,' regional Polish customs spokeswoman Marzena Siemieniuk told AFP.

Fourteen people including several customs agents working at the Dorohusk crossing were detained by police in January on allegations of corruption, Lublin police spokeswoman Anna Smarzak told AFP Tuesday.

Lorry drivers frustrated by the huge border delay and the lack of toilets and other sanitary facilities blocked the border for several hours on Thursday, likely sparking the monster queue, Siemieniuk said.

'There are currently more than 1,600 lorries waiting on the Polish side to cross over to Ukraine and more vehicles are joining the queue. We have a maximum capacity for processing 500-600 vehicles in 24 hours,' she explained.

A Polish lorry driver quoted Tuesday by Poland's TVN24 news channel said it was his fourth day stuck in the huge jam.

Customs and border checks along Poland's eastern border were beefed up on December 21 last year, when the country was one of nine EU newcomers to join the Schengen zone, which comprises 24 European states.

Schengen zone states drop border controls among themselves, but are bound to toughen controls on their borders with non-members.