More than 120,000 pounds of fireworks were seized in an illegal operation in the South Bay area of Los Angeles in one of the largest fireworks busts in state history, authorities said.
The cache of fireworks was so large that Cal Fire's bomb unit was called to assist local police.
Several people were arrested Saturday during an early morning raid, according to a joint statement from the Gardena Police Department and the State Fire Marshal's Office Bomb and Arson Unit. The exact location was not revealed.
Some of the fireworks measured up to 20 centimetres in diameter, roughly the same as a bowling ball. More than 2,000 illegal destructive devices and 4.5 kilos of bulk homemade explosives were also seized.
No other information about the seizure was provided, given the pending criminal investigation. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Cal Fire's bomb unit at [email protected].
Last year, the Los Angeles Police Department confiscated 38,000 pounds of illegal fireworks from a South Los Angeles warehouse.
That raid came two years after Los Angeles police injured 17 people and damaged 35 properties while trying to detonate a cache of fireworks in a South Los Angeles neighborhood, displacing dozens of residents.
With the Fourth of July approaching, Cal Fire reminds the public that it is illegal to sell, transport or use fireworks that do not bear the “Safe and Sane” seal. You also cannot set off fireworks in communities that prohibit them. Depending on the crime, violators of fireworks laws could face up to a year in jail and fines of up to $50,000 if convicted.
