40,000 cubic feet of stolen stone from Bholaganj seized in Demra

RAB-11 has recovered a massive haul of white mineral stones—looted from Sylhet’s Bholaganj region—during a late-night operation in Demra, Dhaka.

The stones were disguised under layers of sand within the sheds.

Around 8.00pm on Thursday (August 14), a joint task force raided seven stone sheds near the Shitalakshya River in Sarulia, Narayanganj, and seized approximately 40,000 cubic feet of quarries, both intact and machine-crushed.

According to Lt. Col. HM Sajjad Hossain, RAB-11’s Battalion Commander, the haul was tracked following credible intelligence that looted stone was being offloaded near the Kanchpur Bridge.

A coordinated operation with the district administration and the Department of Environment led to the discovery of the cache.

This recovered amount is part of a much larger illicit extraction scheme—an estimated 200,000 cubic feet of white stone (valued at Tk 200–250 crore) and 600,000 cubic feet of sand (valued at Tk 240 crore) is believed to have been mined illegally from Bholaganj recently, stored locally in Dayar Bazar, Kalabari, and Ghat No. 10, and then transported to crushers.

Warehouse workers fled the scene before the operation concluded. Authorities plan to compile a list of the shed owners and proceed with legal action in accordance with environmental regulations.