A joint mobile court led by the upazila administration and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) raided an illegal factory in Banshkhali, Chittagong on Friday afternoon uncovered a major fake foreign chocolate operation.
Acting on intelligence from the NSI and DGFI, officials raided Messrs. Alif Enterprise in Baharchhara Union. The factory had reportedly been producing low-quality also unhygienic candies using harmful chemical dyes and packaging them in authentic foreign brand wrappers for over a year.
During the drive authorities seized counterfeit products worth approximately Tk.6.5 lakh including 72,000 pieces of soft candy, 500,000 oat bars and various fake chocolates and destroyed packaging materials valued at Tk.60,000.
Banshkhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md. Ruhul Amin fined the establishment Tk.3 lakh under mobile court laws. Local residents reported that the illicit syndicate had produced and distributed counterfeit confectionery worth nearly Tk.1 crore over the past year.
UNO Ruhul Amin affirmed that regular drives will continue to eliminate hazardous and illegal food manufacturing across the upazila.
