Additional 17.5 tons of illegal fireworks seized by Hawaii task force

The Illegal Fireworks Task Force, operated under the state Department of Law Enforcement, seized 17.5 additional tons of illegal fireworks during a routine tariff inspection of a shipping container Friday. The container came from the U.S. mainland.

Friday’s seizure is the third over the last two weeks by the task force. Since its creation in July, the task force has seized almost 105,000 pounds of illegal fireworks.

The contents of the shipping container seized were labeled as “other items,” and were “likely destined for the black market on a neighbor island,” according to a Department of Law Enforcement news release.

Illegal Fireworks Task Force officers have “detained the container and will complete the seizure of the fireworks upon the execution of a search warrant,” the release said.

“The Illegal Fireworks Task Force’s objective is to prevent the introduction of illegal fireworks into our communities,” Department of Law Enforcement Director Jordan Lowe said in the release. “We expect additional seizures of illegal fireworks to be imminent.”