Iran claims success in combatting illegal handsets

Authorities in Iran say they have been successful in curbing the use of smuggled mobile phones following the introduction of a handset registration scheme. Trend News Agency says that an estimated 12.5 million devices were smuggled into the country in 2018, costing the government USD350 million in lost taxes. Ali Moayedi Khoramabadi, the head of Iran’s Headquarters to Combat Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange, declared: ‘Due to the government actions regarding registration of mobile phones, all the processes related to the import of devices from customs release to sale have been monitored.’