Fake milk factory in a house in Pabna's Bhangura: 2,700 kg of jelly seized, owner jailed for one year
The upazila administration has raided an illegal fake-milk factory set up in a residential house in Bhangura upazila of Pabna. About two thousand seven hundred kilograms of harmful jelly, oil and a large quantity of fake milk were seized in the raid.
The raid was carried out on Friday morning (30 October) at the accused Abul Bashar's own house at Kaidanga Notunpara village in Bhangura Union of the upazila.
A mobile court later jailed and fined two people, including the ringleader, for their involvement. The convicted men are Md. Abul Bashar, owner of the fake factory at Kaidanga Notunpara village, and his accomplice Md. Sabuj of the same village.
The mobile court sentenced Abul Bashar to one year's simple imprisonment and a fine of Tk 200,000. Accomplice Sabuj was given six months' imprisonment and a fine of Tk 50,000; in default, Sabuj will have to serve another three months in jail.
The joint raid was led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Suraiya Mumtaj and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nusrat Jahan, with the National Security Intelligence (NSI), the upazila administration and Bhangura police. On the basis of a secret tip, it was learned that Abul Bashar had long been making fake milk at his home by mixing various harmful chemical substances and supplying it to the market.
Raid sources said 36 drums of jelly, weighing about 2,700 kg in total, were recovered from inside the house. Also seized were 200 litres of harmful oil used in making the milk and 320 litres of prepared fake milk.
The estimated market value of the recovered materials is about Tk 800,000. The adulterated materials, extremely risky for public health, were destroyed on the spot.
Bhangura UNO Suraiya Mumtaj said mixing harmful jelly and chemicals into an essential nutritious food like milk and marketing it is a heinous crime. Acting on the secret tip after confirming its truth, the factory was demolished and those involved were punished, she said, adding that such drives against fake-food producers and traders will continue regularly to protect public health.
