The state-run Ebtekar daily posted an article on Sunday, December 11th, unveiling startling remarks made by regime officials over the systematic nature smuggling of goods, and how this phenomenon has become an established method for the Iranian regime.
“Small ships, load-carriers and smugglers are only a small percentage of the country’s smuggling dilemma. A large portion of smuggled goods entering the country are far more intense than these simple individuals… confronting such smugglers is only answering to a small percentage of the problem,” the piece reads.
“Considering the statistics provided by official organs, smuggled imports value at $15 billion. Our official imports are around $50 billion, and again based on the numbers of manufactured goods imported into the country, including vehicles, adds up to around $5 billion. Therefore, the smugglers are importing consumable goods. This means the value of goods smuggled into the country is three times that of official trade,” the article writes citing Majid-reza Hariri, deputy of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce.
“When we $25 billion worth of smuggled goods in the country, it means that this phenomenon is far beyond a bunch of load-carriers and small ship owners, and we are faced with a large mafia being behind all this,” the article continued, citing Nosser Mousavi Laregani, a member of the Iranian parliament’s economic commission.