Police Establish Customs Protection Unit to Combat Smuggling

The head of the NAJA Prevention Police announced the formation and commencement of the "Customs Protection Unit" to intensify the fight against smuggling in Iran. According to a report on Thursday (April 13), Mohammad Sharafi announced this news during the introduction ceremony of the commander of the "Customs Protection Unit" and stated that the establishment of such a unit is "in line with the leader's demand." Mr. Sharafi outlined the unit's responsibilities as "protecting facilities and goods at customs," "controlling visitors," and "vehicles." This police official also announced that the unit will "act as a special judicial authority in customs matters to address instances of smuggling." "Special judicial authorities" refer to officials and agents in Iran who operate under specific laws within the limits of their assigned duties. Agents from the Ministry of Intelligence, the Basij Force, and the IRGC Intelligence Organization, as well as other armed forces, are also referred to as "special judicial authorities." According to responsible officials, Iran currently has 150 customs offices, through which a significant volume of smuggled goods enters the country from these official channels. Islamic Republic officials have been discussing the growing trend of smuggled goods entering Iran for years, but so far, no authority or organization has had a clear and acceptable performance in controlling and reducing the influx of such goods. The Iranian Customs announced on April 6 that soon all incoming containers to the "Shahid Rajaei" customs in Bandar Abbas will be inspected using an "advanced X-ray" system. Of the 11 active truck X-ray devices in Iranian customs, two are operational at the "Shahid Rajaei" port. This port, which spans 2,400 hectares, sees an average of 2,000 containers entering the country daily. 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, reported that 3,850 trucks entered Iran daily through Bandar Abbas "without inspection and oversight." In late August of last year, some media reported that the "largest smuggling shipment" in six years was discovered at the "Shahid Rajaei" port in Bandar Abbas, leading to the arrest of 11 employees from the customs and ports organization. Habibollah Haghighi, head of the Anti-Smuggling Headquarters, previously stated that "4,000 containers enter and exit through Shahid Rajaei port daily, and this port, with one X-ray device, can only check 200 containers." Smuggling has become one of the most significant economic problems and symbols of "corruption" in the country, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has called for smuggled goods to be "set on fire" in response to the continuation of this situation.