Law enforcement seizes 24 tons of illegal fireworks in Honolulu

Approximately 24 tons of fireworks were seized in a shipping container in Honolulu by the state Illegal Fireworks Task Force on Thursday.

All the seized fireworks were display fireworks, otherwise known as “1.3G fireworks,” consisting of aerial shells in varying sizes. These 1.3 G fireworks require significant licensure and are only authorized for importation, storage and use by lawfully permitted entities. They are meant to be used by people who have specialized professional training and not for use by the public.

This seizure of fireworks occurred during a routine inspection of goods entering Hawaiʻi. The investigation into the discovery of these fireworks, as well as the investigations of previously seized fireworks, are continuing.

“The Illegal Fireworks Task Force is comprehensively examining the entire fireworks
environment in Hawaiʻi, including both legitimate industry and the black market,” said state Department of Law Enforcement Deputy Director Jared Redulla. “Fireworks are highly regulated items in Hawaiʻi. Consequently, everyone who decides to get involved with fireworks must strictly comply with all the federal, state, and county laws that regulate them.”

The Department of Law Enforcement is the coordinating agency for the Illegal Fireworks Task
Force which comprises state Department of Law Enforcement investigators, deputy sheriffs, county police officers, the Department of the Attorney General and federal agencies such as Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Investigation Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the United States Coast Guard Investigation Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.