Reduce the smuggling of monuments in Tehran; Black market move from Manouchehri to private offices

Quoted by ISNA; Colonel Mojtaba Nouri, commander of the Tehran Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit, said at a meeting of the Tehran Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department, which was held on Wednesday, May 9, about the situation of historical objects in Tehran:

Trafficking transactions have declined. We followed this seriously and had good discoveries.

He added:

Last year (1) we discovered about 2 historical cultural objects, and we had donated objects, and 2 metal detectors and 2 operations led to the discovery.

The commander of the Tehran Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit explained about the transfer of the market for the smuggling of historical objects from Manouchehri Street to personal homes in northern Tehran:

Smuggling in the market has fallen too low, but that personal homes have replaced the markets, it is not right and I can’t afford much.

In response to the question of whether the decline in transactions in the Manouchehri market means transferring transactions to other places, including large passageways in the north of Tehran. Said:

Since the day we infiltrated the market for Tehran, the number of people who came to Tehran for sales has declined. Some transactions are made in work offices and passages. Even one case was discovered and one of the defendants had a weapon. The place of the transaction was in the office that was coordinated through cyberspace for the transaction. Most of the appointments are with these people (smugglers and sellers of historical objects) through cyberspace.

The commander of the Tehran Cultural Heritage Conservation Unit also said about the role of Afghan nationals in the trafficking in historical objects.

I do not confirm the presence of Afghan nationals in this area, and so far, of the about five pens of historical cultural objects discovered, not even one Afghan has been arrested.