Law enforcement agencies in Netrokona have intercepted a major illicit shipment of subsidised government rice destined for the black market. Officers seized one hundred sacks of grain loaded onto two hand-drawn trolleys and detained two individuals during the operation.
The interception took place on Friday morning at approximately 11:00 AM near the Rudrashree Government Primary School along the Madan-Tiyashri road in Madan Upazila.
Police identified the detained drivers as 28-year-old Mamun Mia, son of Abu Kalam, and 24-year-old Akar Ullah, son of Abdul Haque. Both suspects hail from Deohashila village within the same upazila.
According to local reports, the government has been distributing subsidised rice over recent days under Open Market Sale (OMS) initiatives designed to support low-income and vulnerable populations. Vulnerable beneficiaries occasionally resell their allocated rations at lower prices instead of retaining them for domestic consumption. A local intermediary network routinely aggregates these distributed quantities for illegal resale.
On Friday morning, perpetrators loaded the accumulated grain onto two hand trolleys, attempting to transport the consignment towards the Netrokona upazila headquarters. Alert residents grew suspicious of the movement, intercepted the vehicles along the roadway, and promptly alerted local policing authorities. A dispatched police unit secured the scene, seized the cargo, and took the drivers into custody.
Local community members have emphasised the necessity of tracking down the original source of the collected rations and investigating why vulnerable recipients frequently sell off their safety-net provisions.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Salauddin Karim of Madan Police Station confirmed that tactical teams acted on a confidential tip indicating that subsidised rice shipments were moving toward the upazila headquarters.
“We intercepted the two trolleys near the Rudrashree area and discovered approximately one hundred sacks of government-allocated rice following a thorough search,” the police official stated. “The grain, the vehicles, and the two drivers have been brought to the police station. We are currently conducting precise measurements to determine the exact volume of the seized stock while formal investigations get underway.”
Madan Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Nadir Hossain Shamim verified that police successfully secured the subsidised stock and noted that formal directives have been issued to file a regular criminal case at the local police station.
