Five factories sealed off in a month for producing fake hand sanitisers

Five factories manufacturing and marketing fake hand sanitisers in Chattogram were sealed off by the district administration in the last one month.

The factory owners had been continuing their businesses without the approval of Directorate General of Drug Administration, said officials.

In the latest move last week, a mobile court of the district administration, led by Executive Magistrate Omar Faruque conducted a drive in the city's Dewanhat and sealed off "AR Chattola Chemicals".

It also fined the factory owner, Md Rashed, Tk 50,000 and jailed him for six months, Omar Faruque told this newspaper.

"They were bottling hand sanitisers without the involvement of any lab technician," he said, adding that they destroyed a huge quantity of such sanitisers seized from the factory.

Hossain Mohammad Imran, assistant director of DGDA, Chattogram, said the ratio of chemicals used in those hand sanitisers was not appropriate. Besides, harmful ingredients were mixed in those, he added.

"We will continue our drives to stop such illegal trade," he said.

Earlier, "Taj Chemicals" in the city's Kalur Ghat, "Rupsazza Cosmetics" in Hazari Lane, "Sha Amanat Traders" in Khatunganj and "Annex World Wide Co Ltd" in Kazir Dewri area were sealed off by the district administration.

Those five factories were basically controlling the fake sanitiser market in Chattogram, said the executive magistrate.