Nearly 12,000 cubic feet of stolen stones have been returned to the river from Bholaganj Sada Pathor in Companiganj.
In addition, in a separate joint operation, around 80 trucks were stopped on the Sylhet Osmani Airport Road to inspect for white stones.
Police sources reported that a joint team of administration and law enforcement agencies began an operation late Wednesday night along the banks of the Dhalai River.
During the operation, approximately 12,000 cubic feet of stone were recovered.
According to sources, the recovered stones are being returned to the river to preserve the natural beauty of the tourist site.
A source from the district administration said that the operation will continue until all stolen stones are returned to their original locations.
Meanwhile, on the entrance road to Sylhet city from the airport, the joint forces conducted an operation from midnight Wednesday, stopping around 80 trucks loaded with stones.
At noon on Thursday, Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Saiful Islam informed that the stones in the trucks are still being inspected.
Those trucks found carrying white stones are having their cargo seized.
The operation involves coordination between the administration, army, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police and is expected to continue.
Earlier on Wednesday night, an emergency meeting chaired by District Commissioner Muhammad Sher Mahbub Murad decided to launch this operation.
The meeting also approved four other key measures: 24-hour joint patrols in Jaflong and Sada Pathor areas, establishment of permanent police checkpoints in Gowainghat and Companiganj, operations to shut down illegal stone-crushing machinery and the arrest of all individuals involved in stone theft.
Previously, in February 2020, the government had issued directives to halt the extraction of stones and sand from quarries.
Local sources indicated that since then, certain local Awami League leaders had clandestinely supported illegal stone and sand extraction at night.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, BNP leaders and allied organizations reportedly took control of all quarries in Sylhet.
Under their patronage, several thousand stone workers publicly resumed stone extraction.
Exploiting the inaction of the local administration, over the past year, the protected Bholaganj Ropeway area has been turned into a barren land.
Sand extraction near the base of the Dhalai Bridge has put the bridge at risk.
Most recently, the stones were looted from the site.