TEHRAN — Over a 5-month period (March 20-August 21, 2016) Iran succeeded in seizing smuggled goods worth 70 trillion rials (about $2 billion), the head of anti-smuggling task force said.

The amount has surpassed the total amount of smuggled goods seized last Iranian calendar year (March 2015-March 2016), totaling 50 trillion rials (about $1.5 billion), Habibollah Haqiqi told IRIB.

“Under a 5-year scheme, we are planning on decreasing goods smuggling into Iran by 10 to 15 percent annually by the end of the current year (March 2017),” Haqiqi added.

Earlier this year, the anti-smuggling task force spokesman Qasem Khorshidi explained that primary estimates show a 40 percent decline in the smuggling of goods in Iran over the past two years as a result of measures taken by the task force at different levels.

Bringing the inflation rate under control and reducing it, increasing intelligent and online monitoring of the transit networks, limiting the transit of some specific goods, administrating product tracking ID, doubled with police forces increased cooperation and armed forces supports are of the few steps taken against smuggling.

Given the aforesaid measure the $25 billion worth of smuggling reported in Iranian calendar year 1392 (March 2013-March 2014) diminished to $15 billion in the calendar year ended in March 2016.

MQ/MG