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Authorities seize more than 17,000 pounds of illegal fireworks
This seizure truly could have prevented a disaster. We're talking about commercial-grade fireworks and explosives here that should never be in the hands of amateurs. This is what investigators with the state licensing agency, LARA, and the State Fire Marshal discovered.
GARDEN CITY, Mich. (FOX 2) - 17,000 pounds of illegal fireworks and explosives were seized and officials say it possibly prevented a disaster.
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Investigators with the state licensing agency, LARA, and the State Fire Marshal made the discovery. A call was made to the Detroit Bomb Squad and Garden City police and fire to safely handle the amount of explosives in the bust.
Five thousand pounds of seized explosives were professional grade, not to be used by the average Joe. The other 12,000 pounds are called "overloaded explosives" with fake labels.
That process is called re-wrapping, and the consumer doesn't even really know what they're getting.
"If that big of a mortar is set off and explodes on the ground, we are talking multiple fatalities. It's extremely dangerous. It's an explosive device. It's basically a bomb, and it can cause a ton of damage, especially at that size," said Pro Fireworks Vice President James Goodwin.
"I saw some professional-level fireworks, which should never be in the hands of consumers. You actually need an ATF license and training, and in most states, a state license to possess that. What could go wrong? What could go wrong is that with this level of product, particularly the 1.3 product, someone could get killed. Really, it's that simple," said Phantom Fireworks Vice President Bill Weimer.
Dig deeper:
The state didn't get into the punishments doled out in connection to these busts, but they can range anywhere from fines to prison time, and even having to reimburse the state for having to handle the fireworks or explosives.
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