Authorities seized a total of 30,433 litres of illegally hoarded fuel in multiple drives across the country over the past 24 hours, with mobile courts fining offenders and handing down jail terms.
Patuakhali: 6,200 litres seized from trawler
Law enforcers recovered 6,200 litres of illegally stored fuel during a drive in Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali this morning, reports BSS.
According to officials, 3,200 litres of diesel and 3,000 litres of petrol were seized from a trawler anchored in the Andharmanik River near the municipal ferry ghat around 9:30am.
Acting on a tip-off, authorities intercepted the vessel and recovered 31 barrels of diesel and 30 barrels of petrol.
Executive Magistrate Yasin Sadiq said the trawler had departed for Rangabali after illegally collecting fuel from a filling station. A mobile court fined the owner of Bismillah Filling Station Tk20,000 for illegally supplying fuel.
Brahmanbaria: 5,000 litres recovered
In Brahmanbaria, authorities seized 5,000 litres of fuel during a mobile court drive at Purbabhag Notun Bazar in Nasirnagar upazila last night.
The operation, led by Executive Magistrate Sahel Ahmed, was conducted following a tip-off that a grocery shop, Selim Store, had been hoarding fuel.
Officials recovered the fuel stored in 26 drums, and the shop owner, Md Faisal, was fined Tk10,000.
Khulna: 1,235 litres seized
A mobile court in Khulna seized 1,235 litres of illegally stored fuel in the Eastern Gate area of Phultala upazila yesterday.
The drive was jointly conducted by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-6) and the local administration, reports BSS.
During the operation, Messrs Naoshin Enterprise was fined Tk60,000, with a provision of 30 days’ imprisonment in default of payment.
Pirojpur: Over 4,000 litres seized
In Pirojpur, the Nesarabad upazila administration seized 4,018 litres of diesel from a warehouse at Madhya Kathi Bazar under Atghar Kuriana union.
The drive, led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer Amit Dutta with assistance from the army, was conducted based on confidential information, reports BSS.
The warehouse owner, Badsha Talukder (Nantu), admitted to stockpiling fuel to sell at inflated prices and was fined Tk10,000 under the Petroleum Act, 2016.
Narayanganj: 13,980 litres seized, two jailed
In Narayanganj, two separate mobile court drives on Tuesday recovered a total of 13,980 litres of illegally hoarded diesel, reports UNB.
In the first operation, authorities seized 9,100 litres of diesel from a location near Meghna Depot in Godnail, Siddhirganj. The accused, Md Sifat, was fined Tk6,000 and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment.
In a second raid, 4,880 litres of diesel were recovered from a house on SA Road in the same area. The accused, Md Nasir, was fined Tk3,000 and sentenced to one month in jail.
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