Smuggling in Iran

Unreal foreign currency rates, high import tariffs and lenient penalties for smugglers are adding fuel to the fire of illegal trade. This complaint was made by Mohsen Bahrami Arz Aghdas, head of…

About $15.5 billion worth of goods were smuggled into and out of Iran in the last Iranian year (March 2015-16), which is 27.7% less than that of the previous year, according to the anti-…

Iranian police have confiscated 120 containers of contraband carrying toys, glass dishes, auto parts and home appliances worth more than 1,900 billion rials ($54.28 million at market exchange…

Following reports that smuggled lemons and sour cherries are being sold in the domestic fruit markets, Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati has called for the formation of a taskforce led by his…

Contraband cigarettes account for 35-40% of the domestic market, a former CEO of Iranian Tobacco Company said.

Close to 8.5 billion sticks of cigarettes were smuggled into the country in the last Iranian year (March 2015-16), indicating an over 29% decline as compared to a year before, according to the…

Iran’s National Saffron Council has voiced concern about the relentless smuggling of Iranian saffron bulbs into Afghanistan and China. “Iran is the largest producer of saffron, accounting for…

Efforts to keep rampant smuggling in check are bearing fruit.

With about $20 billion worth of contraband entering the country annually, developing a self-reliant, oil-independent domestic economy is impossible.

The statement was recently made by…

More than 70% of the spectacles and sunglasses available in the domestic market are contraband, the head of Tehran’s Union of Manufacturers and Sellers of Glasses said.

“Some 25% of the…

Around $500 million worth of shoes are smuggled into the country every year, says the head of Handmade Shoemakers Union. This is while, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs…

Iran has been a producer of colored pencils for over four decades. Since 2011, however, domestic markets have lost ground to foreign imports.

A cargo of smuggled fruit weighing 27 tons was destroyed in Tehran on Wednesday after it was found to be carrying health risks by health inspectors.

As decreed by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, combating fruit smuggling is a national duty, says deputy agricultural minister, Mohammad Ali Tahmasebi. “Imports of…

Gasoline smuggling has declined significantly over the past few months, executive director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said, noting that diesel smuggling is still…

The psychedelic drug methamphetamine is being smuggled into the country from Afghanistan and Pakistan mainly through the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, said Alireza Jazini, deputy…

Recent data show an estimated $200 million, which equal the cash subsidy payment of almost 20 million people, are smuggled out of the country each month.

According to the head of the…

Increasing the export of petroleum products to Afghanistan from official terminals will help curb fuel smuggling and ensure quality products are supplied to Iran's eastern neighbor, the oil…

About 500 million meters of fabrics are annually smuggled into the country, said Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh on Monday, adding that annual domestic demand…

Orange is the most smuggled fruit in the market, according to the head of Fruit and Vegetable Sellers Union, Hossein Mohajeran. “Most of the contraband come from Egypt; some of it are also…

The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has recently announced plans to combat clothes smuggling to enable domestic producers to have a share of the apparel market.

Talks on the root causes, socioeconomic impacts and ways to combat the harmful phenomenon of smuggling were the central themes of a Tuesday meeting between members of Tehran Chamber of Commerce…

Rampant fruit smuggling is threatening the agricultural sector, warned the general director of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits Department of Agricultural Jihad Ministry. “Iran annually produces…

Concerns are mounting over the possible flood of imports once the sanctions against Iran are lifted as part of the nuclear agreement reached in July with the P5+1 countries.

A significant difference between fuel prices in Iran and those in its neighboring countries have turned fuel smuggling into a lucrative business. Even the government’s anti-smuggling regulations…