A joint operation by administrative officials and law enforcement personnel has led to the seizure of 217 bags of illegally stockpiled chemical fertiliser from a rice mill warehouse in Dinajpur Sadar Upazila. Following the raid, a mobile court sentenced the mill owner, 65-year-old Monohar Alam, to one month and 15 days of simple imprisonment alongside a fine of 30,000 Taka. Failure to pay the monetary penalty will require the convict to serve an additional 15 days behind bars.
The drive was conducted at around 2:00 pm on Wednesday, 26 August, inside the warehouse of M/S Fuad Industries Rice Mill, located within the Pulhat BSCIC Industrial Area. Acting on a specific confidential tip-off, an enforcement team raided the establishment and uncovered 170 bags of Urea and 47 bags of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). Officials estimated the market value of the confiscated agricultural inputs at 2,29,500 Taka.
When challenged during the inspection, Monohar Alam failed to produce any valid licences, supply vouchers, or statutory documentation to justify storing such a significant quantity of regulated agricultural inputs inside a grain facility. Under cross-examination by authorities, the mill owner confessed to hoarding the stock illegally for speculative gains.
A mobile court was convened on the spot to summary-try the offender under national agricultural commodity laws. Dinajpur Sadar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Ruhul Amin Sharif presided over the judicial proceedings, issuing the conviction and immediate sentencing orders.
UNO Ruhul Amin Sharif confirmed the penal measures, stating that the secret intelligence led directly to the recovery of the hidden inventory. He emphasized that because the business owner formally admitted to unauthorized storage, immediate statutory penalties were handed down to deter artificial market manipulation.
The seized commodities have been handed over to the custody of the Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer. To protect local farming interests and stabilize market supply, the court ordered that the confiscated Urea and DAP bags be distributed directly to local farmers at government-fixed rates, with all sales proceeds deposited straight into the state treasury.
The anti-hoarding raid was executed in the presence of Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdullah Al Masum Tushar and Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nurunnabi, supported by operational contingents from the Department of Agricultural Extension and local police.
Illegal stockpiling of essential fertilisers remains a persistent challenge in northern Bangladesh, particularly during peak crop planting seasons. Middlemen and industrial operators frequently divert subsidized agricultural chemicals away from legitimate retail distribution networks to create artificial market shortages and drive up prices. Local administration officials reaffirmed that strict vigilance and unannounced drives across industrial estates will continue to prevent the exploitation of grassroots agricultural communities.
