A 50-year-old man was arrested in Gomangalam on Sunday for illegally storing fertilizer given to farmers by the government at a subsidized price. The accused was identified as B Mummoorthy of Alagappa Street at Jothi Nagar in Pollachi and was nabbed during a vehicle check on the Pollachi-Udumalpet road.

Cops said that on January 18, the Pollachi agricultural officer, Thulasimani, seized 905 fertilizer bags intended for distribution from a godown at Kedimedu village near Gomangalam along with a truck that was used to smuggle the same.

On Sunday afternoon, the police, who registered a case under Section 7(1)(a)(ii) of the Essential Commodities Act, carried out a vehicle inspection on Pollachi-Udumalpet Road and nabbed Mummoorthy, who was travelling in a car. Rs 9,500 was seized from him. He was brought before a judicial magistrate and later, taken for custody.