A Case Formed Regarding the Smuggling of 670,000 Liters of Alcohol in Kermanshah

On Saturday, September 4, Mojtaba Maleki, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Kermanshah, announced the formation of a case related to the smuggling of 670,000 liters of alcohol in this province. According to Mehr News Agency, the prosecutor stated that this shipment was smuggled from the Razavi Yeast Company in Khuzestan to Kermanshah, saying: "This alcohol was supposed to exit through the Kermanshah customs border, but with the collusion of some customs personnel, fake export documents were issued, yet the alcohol did not leave." Mojtaba Maleki added that there are various reports regarding the consumption of this alcohol and that investigations are underway to determine its use. According to the Kermanshah prosecutor, about 11 individuals are under observation in this case, and some of them may be released. A day before these details were published, Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported the arrest of ten customs employees in connection with a 15 trillion tomans violation and the smuggling of over 800 tons of white alcohol into Iran. According to these reports, all those arrested were employees of the "Parviz Khan" customs in Kermanshah province, accused of "collaborating in the illegal entry of two thousand containers of goods" and "facilitating the smuggling of over 800 tons of white alcohol into the country." Tasnim news agency also reported that these individuals "have caused the loss of more than 15 trillion tomans in government rights." The report adds that these individuals have been transferred to Dizelabad prison in Kermanshah, and "more than 200 billion tomans in bail has been set for them." Meanwhile, Morad Mohammadi, the director of the "Parviz Khan" customs, announced that these "violations" occurred in the years 2012 and 2013 during the previous government, and this case was formed following a complaint from this customs. According to Mehr News Agency, Hassan Mehri, the head of Iran's airport police, also announced earlier in September that the main discoveries of smuggled goods at airports include alcoholic beverages, mobile phones, and unauthorized currency. Additionally, on August 19, several media outlets reported that the "largest smuggling shipment" in the last six years was discovered at Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, and in this case, 11 employees of the customs and ports organization were arrested. Following this, Saeed Asadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Bandar Abbas, announced that after the discovery of smuggled containers in this city, 22 employees of companies "under contract with the ports and customs" were summoned and charged, with six of them being arrested and the rest released on bail. Alireza Jamshidi, the head of the Government Trading Organization, estimated the value of smuggled goods in Iran's economy at 20 billion dollars last November, considering it a sign of "the ineffectiveness of laws related to combating smuggling." Hossein Ashtari, the commander of Iran's police force, stated last May that "a significant portion" of smuggling goods into Iran and their exit from the country is "organized." The remarks of the police commander regarding the "organized" nature of smuggling into Iran come at a time when some officials of the Islamic Republic have implicitly accused the Revolutionary Guards of being involved in smuggling goods. For instance, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, without naming names, said that "a corrupt apparatus that... can import smuggled goods does not allow the country to grow." Smuggling has become one of the most important economic problems and symbols of "corruption" in the country, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has called for the smuggled goods to be "burned" in response to the continuation of this situation. On the other hand, some military, security, and governmental institutions are named as the main actors in smuggling goods and currency in the Islamic Republic, yet no official authority has been willing to disclose the names of these institutions.