The restaurant owners and bakers have long been using unknown chemicals in different food items to allure people. The court also seized some unlabeled chemicals.

"Everyone we apprehended with unknown chemicals has told us they buy it from the Mitford market. So we conducted a drive over there," said Md. Rokan Ud Doula, the magistrate of the court.

The court collected fines of Tk 10,000 each from the owners of Mitali perfumeries, Paris perfumeries, Fancy perfumeries, Rajdhani perfumeries and APM perfumeries.

The traders argued that they sell the unlabeled chemicals as the raw materials of essence sticks and rose water. They also argued that they are not guilty for adulterating food items.

But the magistrate instantly fined them under the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) ordinance. A Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) chemist, Md. Nasir Uddin, was present with the mobile court during the drive.

Meanwhile, two others mobile courts led by Mujibol Haq and Mizanur Rahman also raided several restaurants and food shops in the Mirpur and Demra areas.

They collected Tk 1,40,000 from the owners of the shops for selling unhygienic food items and for not maintaining safety standards, police control room sources said.