Mulberries seized, destroyed at Tawella-Shushme crossing

HALABJA — At the Tawella-Shushme border crossing with Iran, authorities confiscated and destroyed 500 kilograms of spoiled dried mulberries, marking the year’s first seizure, according to Hamid Baram, director of Halabja’s Biyara district.

The mulberries, found by border inspection teams, were allegedly being smuggled into the Kurdistan Region for resale.

“There was an attempt to smuggle in the spoiled mulberries and pass them off as fresh,” Baram told 964media.

A multi-agency committee of security, police, quality control, and health officials operates at the Tawella-Shushme border, inspecting all incoming food and goods. Items deemed expired or unsuitable for consumption are disposed of, and their entry is barred.

“Occasionally, we intercept food that, while not expired or spoiled, fails to meet the Iraqi government’s standards. Such items are not destroyed but returned,” Baram noted.

Last year, border officials seized 500 tons of expired and spoiled food and goods, some of which were destroyed, and others returned to Iran.

The Tawella-Shushme crossing links Halabja Governorate with Iran’s Kermanshah Governorate. Tawella, the last town in the Kurdistan Region before the border, is 22 kilometers from Halabja’s center

Halabja food inspection unit halts non-compliant salt shipment from Iran

KRG border guards seize 3 kilograms of gold at Iranian frontier

Border guards thwart gold-smuggling attempt from Iran