1200 kg toxic mango seized, destroyed
Fake oral saline factories fined
Toxic mangoes seized from Silimpur wholesale market in Ishwardi on Saturday being destroyed in Pabna town yesterday. Photo: STAR
A mobile court in a drive yesterday seized over 1200 kg toxic mangoes from Silimpur Bazaar in Ishawrdi upazila Saturday evening. Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Pabna Md Emam Uddin Kabir led the drive aided by the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Detective Branch of Police. At Silimpur wholesale mango market the team found a huge quantity of green mangoes being contaminated with chemicals in the godown in order to prematurely ripen them and make them look ready for consumption. The team seized over 1200 kg such mangoes from the godown of Md Rabon Ali and Md Alal in the market. The accused traders however managed to flee the scene. The mobile court also fined another mango trader Md Riazul Alam Tk 10,000 for the same offence. The team took the toxic mangoes to the district headquarters and destroyed them in presence of locals at about 10:00 am yesterday. In Benapole, Rab personnel on Saturday recovered 30 maunds of mangoes while being mixed with toxic carbide in Beltola area under Sharsha upazila, reports a correspondent. Rab also arrested four people from the spot. The arrestees are Abdul Malek, Abdus Salam, Mahbub and Kabirul. Rab said, acting on a tip off, they raided the wholesale mango market and recovered the mangoes from the shop of Malek. On Saturday, a mobile court in Pabna also unearthed two fake oral saline making factories in the BSCIC Industrial area, reports UNB. The team raided Safe Food Products and Nectar Food - where fake tasty saline was being produced. The team fined the owners Tk 200,000 and instantly realised the amount from them. Emam Uddin Kabir, who led the joint team said the factory owners did not take any permission from the authorities concerned to produce saline. BSTI, Rajshahi Division`s Deputy Director Alauddin Hossain said the factories were being illegally run without any chemist to test their products. Moreover, the saline was being produced with improperly distilled water in dirty places.
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