Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Thursday confiscated two metric tonnes of shrimps injected with a jelly-like substance to artificially increase their weight from Bahadurpur in Jashore city.

Acting on a tip-off, Rab conducted the drive at night and seized three trucks with shrimps worth Tk 15 lakhs through the mobile court with the help of the Department of Fisheries, Khulna.

The mobile court also fined Tk 2.5 lakhs to the owners of the tainted shrimps.

Eyewitness Habibur Rahman, who is also a local resident, said, “For the first time in my life, I have seen such an incident. We are having poison provided by dishonest businessmen. The government should take stern action against these unscrupulous traders.”  

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M Naziur Rahman, company commander of RAB-6, Jashore, said, “We had information that a shipment of shrimp loaded on the three trucks injected with a jelly-like substance, is going to Dhaka’s Abdullahpur and Kawranbazar wholesale markets from Phultola Shahapur under Dumuria upazila of Khulna. When the trucks reached Bahadurpur of Jashore-Magura road, we informed the Department of Fisheries and confiscated the shrimps.” 

Liptan Sardar, fisheries inspection and quality control officer of the Department of Fisheries, said some dishonest traders have been using jelly-like substances to artificially increase the weight of shrimps. It is a crime. We are working to stop this misdeed.”

Confiscated shrimps have been destroyed in presence of the law enforcers, he said.  

Liptan said a section of traders is pushing silicone gel into the body of shrimps which is harmful to the human body. Silicone gel damages the kidneys and eyes of the human body. In a word, it is a poison and kills people silently.  

Dishonest traders use 250gm silicone gel in one Kg shrimp, added the official.