The Head of the Fruit Vendors Union is Involved in the Smuggling Case of Foreign Fruits

Following the news of the discovery and destruction of 30 tons of 'prohibited' foreign fruits in Iran over the past two weeks, smuggled fruits have also been found at the booth of the head of the Fruit Vendors Union. Mohammad Ali Bagestani, head of the Plant Protection Organization, announced on Saturday, March 5, that 30 tons of 'prohibited' foreign fruits were discovered in various parts of Iran. He stated that during this time, 'one shipment in South Khorasan included about 10 tons of lemons and mandarins, and a shipment in Yazd included three tons of coconuts and 200 kilograms of mandarins that were discovered and destroyed.' He also added that a 13-ton shipment of smuggled fruits was seized in Mirjaveh in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Reports have also emerged from Tehran regarding the discovery and seizure of several tons of smuggled fruits, with the head of the Fruit Vendors Union named as one of the suspects in this matter. Mohammad Mohammadi, the head of the Government Trading Regulations in Tehran Province, reported to the Tasnim news agency that smuggled fruits were discovered in the booth of the head of this union, and representatives from customs and the Ministry of Agriculture have confirmed this issue. In response to the denial of this matter by the head of the Fruit Vendors Union, Mohammadi stated, 'The history of this individual's case is clear, and he has had other cases as well.' On March 1, government regulation agents discovered 'several cartons of smuggled coconut' from this official's booth in the central fruit and vegetable market in Tehran, but he claimed that the cartons did not belong to him. According to Tasnim news agency, 'The profit of 150 billion tomans from fruit smuggling has made it so that no official has the ability to confront it and has shifted the responsibility of preventing its entry onto others.' According to officials from the Anti-Smuggling Headquarters, 15,000 tons of smuggled fruits have been discovered in Iran in the first nine months of this year. The issue of fruit imports has become a topic of discussion among urban and government officials in Iran since Ayatollah Khamenei called such imports 'shameful.' On February 8, Khamenei stated, 'In such a great country, one feels ashamed that foreign fruits are imported. Direct resources towards production, not imports.' In connection with these statements, Ali Akbar Pour Ahmadinejad, the secretary of the Anti-Smuggling Headquarters in Tehran Province, also announced the start of a plan to intensify the crackdown on smuggled fruits in major fruit and vegetable markets. Despite the implementation of this plan, fruit smuggling continues in Iran, and according to Mahmoud Hojjati, the Minister of Agriculture, 'The existing disorder at the borders of the country' is the main factor in the continuation of this phenomenon.