Illegal gas on wheels: Rab seizes 4 'mobile fuelling stations'

It was four covered vans operating on the Keranihat-Bandarban road. On the surface, it was nothing out of the ordinary. But these vans served another purpose.

They were actually unauthorised mobile refuelling stations, which sold liquid gas to CNG-powered autorickshaws. Rab-7 seized the vehicles containing 614 cylinders with mobile refuelling stations installed in those in illegal and unsafe ways from Chattogram's Satkania in an operation conducted on Sunday (26 March) afternoon.

"Dishonest businessmen set up unlicenced and illegal mobile CNG refuelling stations in covered vans in Keranihat-Bandarban road under Satkania police station in Chattogram district. From there, liquid gas was being sold to CNG-powered autorickshaws, which is very dangerous and unsafe," said Rab-7 Assistant Director (Media) Nurul Absar.

He said the group mainly supplies fuel directly to cars and also stores gas from the main gas line, which is then sold illegally at a high price in Chattogram's Satkania, Lohagara, Banshkhali, and various areas of Cox's Bazar.

The cylinders were attached to the vans, with each van containing 153 cylinders on average, according to Absar. "But they do not have any approval from the Department of Explosives. The cylinders are also very old and have never been tested for safety and performance.

Inspection of the cars shows that the lights are fitted with cheap wires and fragile electrical connections, which can cause fires and large explosions at any time due to electrical short circuits," he noted.

Three people named Md Azizul Haque, 45, Md Alamgir, 40, and Humayun Kabir, 27, were arrested, and the seized goods along with the arrestees have been handed over to Lohagara police station, the RAB official informed.