Installation of Advanced Device at Shahid Rajaee Customs for Inspection of All Containers

Iran's customs announced on Friday, April 7, that soon all incoming containers at the Shahid Rajaee customs in Bandar Abbas will be inspected with an 'advanced X-ray system.' The public relations office of Iran's customs wrote that this organization has 'received an advanced truck X-ray device from the manufacturer,' which will arrive at the Shahid Rajaee port in the coming days. According to the organization, this X-ray device can 'scan 150 containers per hour and provide images of the contents of the containers to the technical department of customs.' Out of 11 active truck X-ray devices in Iranian customs, two are operational at the Shahid Rajaee port. The main difference between these X-rays and advanced X-rays is in conducting container control operations either stationary or mobile. The new X-rays can also control and scan the contents of containers and trucks while in motion. The Shahid Rajaee port spans 2,400 hectares and on average, 2,000 containers enter the country daily from this port. In 2016, a total of 44 million tons of various goods were exported from this customs, and 10 million tons were imported into the country. In that year, five million tons of various goods were also transited through Shahid Rajaee customs in Bandar Abbas. Iran's customs also announced that all costs for purchasing this X-ray were covered by domestic resources of Iran's customs. This news comes after multiple reports of thousands of containers entering the country daily without supervision. In September 2016, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, reported the daily entry of 3,850 trucks into Iran through Bandar Abbas 'without inspection and supervision.' In late August of last year, some media reported that the 'largest smuggling shipment' in the last six years was discovered at the Shahid Rajaee port, and in this case, 11 'customs and ports organization employees' were arrested. Habibollah Haghighi, head of the anti-smuggling goods and currency headquarters, had previously stated that '4,000 containers enter and exit through Shahid Rajaee port daily, and this port, with one X-ray device, can only check 200 containers.' Smuggling in Iran has become one of the most significant economic problems and symbols of 'corruption' in the country, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has called for the 'burning' of smuggled goods in response to the continuation of this situation.