Police investigating Marshal Agrovet, Chinese national over BTI larvicide scam

Dhaka, Bangladesh (bdnews24.com) — August 22, 2023 — The company claimed the larvicide was procured from a Singaporean firm, which denied any involvement in supplying it.

Dhaka North City Corporation has sued Marshal Agrovet and a Chinese national in a scam over the import of BTI, an organic pesticide used to eliminate the larvae of dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

The DNCC filed a case against the chairman, managing director and a director of BTI at Gulshan Police Station on Monday on charges related to forgery and fraud.

Sajed Ahmed, the lawyer for the city corporation, said they sued Chinese national Li Qiang because he had wrongly identified himself as a representative of Best Chemical, a Singaporean firm that refuted his claim.

“We will investigate the case and take legal action against the perpetrators,” said Farman Ali, chief of Gulshan Police Station.

The DNCC on Aug 7 introduced BTI to combat the Aedes mosquito larvae responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue.

It said it had sourced five tonnes of the insecticide from Singapore's Best Chemical, with Marshal Agrovet facilitating the procurement.

After media reports emerged, Best Chemical issued a statement, denying any involvement in supplying BTI to Bangladesh and threatening to take legal action.

As Marshal Agrovet failed to substantiate their claim that the BTI was procured from Best Chemical, the DNCC blacklisted the supplier.

Source: https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/0r7b285nw1