Contraband Worth $7.5m Confiscated in Tehran

Some 300 billion rials ($7.5 million at market exchange rate) worth of contraband, including mini-computers, professional cameras and powerful servers, have been confiscated in Tehran.

This was announced by the spokesman of Iran’s Headquarters for Combating the Smuggling of Commodities and Foreign Exchange, Qasem Khorshidi, on Saturday, IRNA reported.

“The anti-smuggling operation was conducted jointly by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration and the Ministry of Intelligence,” he said.

Earlier, the headquarters put the value of the confiscated contraband during the first half of the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2016) at 70 trillion rials ($1.75 billion).

About $15.5 billion worth of goods were smuggled into and out of Iran in the last Iranian year (March 2015-16), registering a 27.7% decline compared to the previous year.

Director General of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Masoud Karbasian said smuggling will see a sharp decline and reach $6 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2017). Apparel, foodstuff, mobile phones, gold ingots and household appliances top the list of incoming contraband, accounting for 41% of the smuggled goods. Fuel is the main item smuggled out of Iran due to its cheap price compared to that in neighboring countries like Turkey and Pakistan