Iranian authorities have reported the seizure of 180 billion tomans in allegedly smuggled cash at the Dogharun border crossing with Afghanistan since the beginning of the current year.
Hassan Rahimizadeh, director general of Dogharun Border Customs, told Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that the amount of smuggled money detected at the crossing has increased 15 times compared with the same period last year.
According to Rahimizadeh, around 60 percent of the seized Iranian currency was reportedly discovered hidden in the luggage of passengers leaving Dogharun for Afghanistan. The remaining 40 percent was found in Iranian and Afghan transport vehicles operating at the border.
The Iranian customs official said approximately 90 percent of the confiscated money belonged to Afghan citizens.
Rahimizadeh warned that the movement of smuggled goods and currency through the official Dogharun crossing is prohibited and said violators would face legal action.
The reported seizures come amid continued concerns over cross-border currency movements between Afghanistan and Iran. Afghanistan International has previously reported claims that large amounts of US dollars are being transported from Afghanistan’s Herat province into Iran through informal channels.
The latest figures highlight the scale of efforts by Iranian authorities to monitor currency and goods passing through one of the main crossings between Iran and Afghanistan.