The Bangladesh Coast Guard has arrested 15 individuals and seized two dredgers along with three sand-carrying bulkheads for illegally extracting sand from the Tentulia River in Borhanuddin Upazila, Bhola.
A mobile court has sentenced all 15 detainees to one month of simple imprisonment.
Coast Guard South Zone Media Officer Lieutenant Md. Salman Bin Shawkat confirmed the operation in a press release issued late Thursday night. According to the statement, a Coast Guard team from the Bhola Base conducted a targeted raid near Hanserchar on Thursday morning based on a tip-off. During the drive authorities caught the perpetrators red-handed while extracting sand, leading to the immediate seizure of the five vessels.
An Executive Magistrate from the Bhola Deputy Commissioner's Office later convened a mobile court handing down 30-day jail sentences to the accused. Authorities stated that legal procedures regarding the confiscation of the seized dredgers and bulkheads are currently underway.
The convicted individuals, who hail from various upazilas across Narayanganj, Barishal and Bhola districts are: Md. Swapan, 48 Md. Jahangir Alam, 22 Md. Mehdi Hasan, 24 Md. Al-Amin, 26 Md. Russell, 32 Md. Abdul Based, 50; Md. Sumon, 20 Md. Noman, 19 Md. Jasim Hawlader, 40; Md. Kabir Hossain, 35 Md. Mofizul, 56 Md. Ismail, 35 Md. Riyad, 20 Md. Alamgir, 40 and another Md. Russell, 25.
Illegal sand mining poses a severe threat to riverbank stability and local ecosystems and authorities have recently ramped up patrols to curb the practice.
