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Iranian police seized 997 Starlink satellite internet devices and detained 163 people over the past four months as authorities intensified operations against the import and distribution of the equipment, state news agency IRNA reported.
Huseyin Rahimi, head of Iran Police’s Economic Security Department, said at a news conference that authorities also confiscated 15 vehicles used to transport the Starlink equipment.
Rahimi said enforcement against the devices was stepped up particularly after Iran’s 12-day war with the U.S. and Israel.
Most of the seized equipment entered Iran through western and northwestern borders via Azerbaijan and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, as well as through southern maritime routes involving Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, he said.
Rahimi said smugglers had exploited exemptions available to border residents and used unofficial routes or pack animals to bring the devices into the country.
Rahimi said Iranian authorities also conducted operations against illegal cryptocurrency mining equipment during the same four-month period.
Police seized 7,556 mining devices, identified 11 illegal mining farms and detained 733 suspects, he said.
Authorities also confiscated 26 vehicles carrying mining equipment and opened 721 judicial cases.
Rahimi said the seized devices placed a significant burden on Iran’s electricity grid, creating a continuous hidden load of about 27 megawatts, equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 76,000 homes.
Starlink is a space-based internet system developed by Elon Musk’s U.S. company SpaceX to provide high-speed broadband access, including in underserved and remote areas.
SpaceX operates more than 3,200 Starlink satellites in orbit, providing internet access to remote locations around the world.
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