Joint forces yesterday unearthed three illegal lubricant factories and seized huge quantity of adulterated lubricants at Sitakunda upazila in the district.

Sources said, tipped off, members of the joint forces raided different areas of Faujdarhat and Bhatiari under the upazila at around 10:00am and unearthed three illegal factories housed in tin-sheds covering huge area.

The factories allegedly produced substandard lubricants out of the used and burnt lubricating oils collected from the scrap vessels of ship breaking yards.

During the six-hour drive, they found one factory at Diyabari near land station of Sangu Gas Field at Faujderhat, another at the eastern side of Faujderhat Railway Station and the other at Balubazar area of Bhatiari.

Around 2000 drums of adulterated lubricant and used lube oil were also seized from the factories.

Law enforcers also held a person identified as Siraj Maola, hailing from Sandwip, from a factory at Diyabari in this connection while the owners and workers managed to flee.

Siraj was later handed over to the Sitakunda Police Station.

Sources said three people, including two brothers Giasuddin and Nuruddin, and Yusuf owned the factory at Daiyabari.

Sub Inspector (SI) Abu Jarra of Sitakunda PS said the owners of the factories used to buy the used lubeoils from ships and used them to produce different adulterated lubricants mixing chemicals in the factories.

The refined adulterated lubricants were being sold to different petrol pumps at Chittagong and Dhaka, sources said.