Content creator and food vlogger Iftekhar Rafsan, popularly known as "Rafsan TheChotoBhai”, has been fined Tk16 lakh for marketing an unlicensed energy drink.
In addition, the court has ordered the withdrawal of the unauthorized drink "Blu" from the market within seven days.
Pure Food Court Judge Alaul Akbar issued the order on Wednesday. During this time, Rafsan stood in court for about an hour and a half.
Food inspector Kamrul Hasan, empowered by the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said in an application that the drink Blu does not have any approval.
The drug administration is also unaware of whether this is a medicine or a drink. Based on this, on June 4, the court issued an arrest warrant against Rafsan.
On April 24, an operation was conducted at the M/S Blu Drinks factory located in the BSCIC area of Comilla city. On May 17, it went viral again on social media.
At that time, a fine of Tk30,000 was imposed for producing Blu in substandard conditions.
It has been reported that the M/S Drink Blue Beverage company, located in Comilla's BSCIC industrial area, was producing an electrolyte drink without obtaining packaging registration certificates. Additionally, the drinks were being bottled in the factory without any measuring instruments.
For packaging and marketing without registration, Iftekhar Rafsan was fined 30,000 taka under Section 41 of the Weights and Measures Standards Act, 2018.