Iraqi Kurdistan’s Gov’t Uncovers Network Smuggling Goods From Iran

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The regional government in Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG) has uncovered a network of smugglers that illegally moved goods from Iran to Iraq’s autonomous region, the Finance Ministry of the KRG said on Monday.

"As part of efforts made by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to control crossings to prevent fraudsters who break the law and commit fraud with disregard for public interest, we managed to reveal a fraud and smuggling network, with the help of the KRG's General Directorate of Customs and the Sulaimani [province] Customs Directorate," the ministry said, as quoted by the Kurdish Rudaw news agency.

According to the ministry, the network moved goods via the Parvizkhan checkpoint in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan, and the total amount of smuggled products was estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

Shakhawan Bakir, an official who is in charge of one of the border checkpoints, told Rudaw that the "technical staff" helped the regional authorities uncover the network.

Approximately 80 percent of goods are transferred from Iran to Iraqi Kurdistan illegally and are not declared at border customs.