A mobile court fined two traders a total of Tk405,000 for allegedly illegally stockpiling fertilizer in Paikerchhara ইউনিয়ন of Bhurungamari upazila, Kurigram. The separate late-night raids took place on Tuesday and were led by Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Executive Magistrate Amrit Deb Nath.

Officials said the operation followed information that a group had been storing fertilizer illegally for a long time in an effort to sell it to farmers at higher prices. At two rooms of Messrs Khokon Bricks, owned by Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Khokon, the court found 16 sacks of urea and seven sacks of DAP fertilizer. The owner was fined Tk400,000.

In a separate raid at Messrs Rafiq Traders in Kurarpar Bazar of the same union, authorities found nine sacks of MOP fertilizer and fined trader Rafiqur Islam Tk5,000. Amrit Deb Nath said such drives would continue to prevent artificial shortages and black marketing. The seized fertilizer will be sold to farmers at government-set prices.