Narinjara News, May 4, 2025

According to the local Bengali news source Ukhiya News, 10 individuals have been apprehended while trying to smuggle fertilizer from Bangladesh to Rakhine state using a fishing boat, along with 600 bags of fertilizer.

On May 1, a vessel from the Bangladesh Coast Guard stopped and examined a motorized wooden boat south of St. Martin's Island (referred to as Coconut Island in Rakhine) at the Naff River's mouth, confiscating the fertilizer.

The motorboat was instructed to halt, but it disregarded the command and attempted to escape, leading to a pursuit, Bangladesh Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant HMM Harun-or-Rashid told reporters on Friday afternoon.

"A 58-day fishing prohibition has been enforced in the Bay of Bengal. At that moment, the boat was observed drifting in the ocean with a dubious appearance. The wooden boat was signaled to halt, but it didn't halt, prompting us to pursue it. We detained 10 smugglers who had 600 bags of urea fertilizer with them."

The individuals who were detained are reportedly from Cox's Bazar and Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The confiscated bags of fertilizer have been submitted to the Teknaf Customs Department, while the individuals have been transferred to the Teknaf Police Station. The fertilizer is being illegally transported into Rakhine from Bangladesh as the planting season approaches and fertilizer prices are rising.