A day after 8.10 metric tonnes of spurious muriate of potash (MOP) were seized during raids by Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) Department at Yerragondapalem in Prakasam district, the enforcement authorities have said that an inter-State racket have been selling the fertilizer in Prakasam and Guntur districts since the last two years.

The racket has been busted with the arrest of six persons while four others are still absconding. The spurious MOP was being manufactured in Karnataka and supplied to the dealers in Andhra Pradesh, Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officers (RVEOs) of Guntur and Prakasam, M. Rajini and T. Shoba Manjari told the media here on Wednesday.

The MOP, a product of Indian Potash Limited (IPL), have been used by the farmers for paddy, chilli and horticulture crops and aquaculture, they said.

Acting on a tip-off that that spurious MOP was being sold without bills, the officials recently raided a fertilizer shop at A. Muppalla village of Ipuru mandal in Guntur district and seized 600 bags of fertilizer and sent the samples to Fertilizer Control Lab which confirmed that the seized MOP was spurious. On Tuesday, the vigilance officials raided two more outlets at Tripurantakam in Prakasam district and seized huge quantity of fake fertilizers.

Modus operandi

The spurious MOP destroyed the paddy, chilli and tomato crops and aquaculture at many places in the State, V&E Special Deputy Collector Balaji Naik said.

Explaining about the modus operandi, RVEO Ms. Rajini said that the accused were duping the farmers by selling the spurious MOP without issuing bills. The fake MOP was prepared by mixing red oxide powder, crystal salt and sand which damage the crop and make the soil alkaline, she explained.

Special teams formed

Following an alert by V&E Director-General D. Gautam Sawang, the Agriculture Department has formed special teams to check on the sale of fake MOP, the vigilance officials said.

In all, eleven criminal cases have been registered in Dornala, Yerragondapalem, Tripurantakam, Ipur and Rentachintala police station limits and cases have been registered under Section 6 (A) of Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

We appeal to farmers not to fall prey to the lower prices offered by shops and purchase fertilizers without bills,Ms. Shoba Manjari said, while explaining the difference between the original and fake MOP by putting the samples in water.

V&E Deputy Superintendent of Police L. Ankaiah said that the investigation had revealed that the spurious MOP had been sold for the last two years in the State.

Vigilance and Enforcement Deputy Collector Bhagya Rekha, Inspectors Gunaram and Antony, Agriculture Officer Venkat Rao and other officers were present on the occasion.