In a swift crackdown on agricultural black-marketing, administrative authorities and police officers have confiscated 217 bags of contraband chemical fertiliser from a rice processing facility in Dinajpur Sadar Upazila. A mobile court convened immediately after the raid sentenced the establishment’s owner, 65-year-old Monohar Alam, to one month and 15 days of simple imprisonment alongside a fine of 30,000 Taka. Should the convict fail to clear the financial penalty, he will serve a further 15 days in custody.
The enforcement operation unfolded at approximately 2:00 pm on Wednesday, 26 August, within the commercial godown of M/S Fuad Industries Rice Mill, situated in the Pulhat BSCIC Industrial Area. Acting upon verified intelligence regarding illegal storage, a multi-agency team raided the premises and recovered 170 bags of Urea alongside 47 bags of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). Agricultural officials assessed the total market value of the confiscated chemical stocks at 2,29,500 Taka.
Inspectors requested statutory paperwork during the drive, but Monohar Alam failed to produce any valid dealer licences, purchase receipts, or movement permits authorizing the storage of controlled agricultural inputs within a commercial grain mill. Questioned by officials on site, the business owner admitted to procuring and holding the stock illicitly to profit from speculative price hikes.
Summary judicial proceedings were initiated directly at the scene under national agricultural supply regulations. Dinajpur Sadar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Ruhul Amin Sharif presided over the mobile court, delivering the guilty verdict and immediate custodial sentence.
Presiding magistrate Ruhul Amin Sharif confirmed the enforcement action, explaining that precise confidential tips allowed law enforcement to locate the concealed stock before it could enter the unofficial market. He noted that because the accused formally acknowledged his guilt during questioning, immediate statutory penalties were imposed to signal zero tolerance for artificial market manipulation.
The seized stock has been transferred to the official custody of the Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer. To mitigate supply disruptions and support local growers, the magistrate directed that the confiscated Urea and DAP inventory be sold directly to local farming families at government-mandated rates. All revenue generated from these regulated sales will be credited directly into the national exchequer.
The operation was executed jointly by Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdullah Al Masum Tushar and Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nurunnabi, alongside field personnel from the Department of Agricultural Extension and local law enforcement units.
The illegal diverting and hoarding of subsidised chemical fertilisers remain persistent threats across northern Bangladesh, particularly during peak agrarian cycles when demand for crop nutrients skyrockets. Unscrupulous middlemen and commercial operators frequently attempt to siphon off government-subsidised supplies from licensed distribution networks, creating artificial local scarcity to inflate retail prices for smallholders. Local administrative leaders reiterated that unannounced inspections across industrial zones will continue uninterrupted to protect regional food production and safeguard farming livelihoods.
