400 kilos of fireworks found in two homes on same Meppel street
The police seized around 400 kilograms of "heavy" fireworks during raids at two homes on Ambonstraat in Meppel on Thursday. The fireworks were confiscated and will be destroyed after investigation. Suspects are being questioned, the Meppel police said on Twitter.
A spokesperson for the police called the find "not something you see everyday", speaking to newspaper De Stentor. He could not say more about the find because he is not a fireworks expert, he said.
According to fireworks expert John Wagenvoort from Wapenveld, the police are too quick to call fireworks "heavy" or "illegal". "I can see from most photos that it is not correct", he said to the newspaper. The police often don't have the knowledge to properly assess fireworks, he said.
De Stentor asked Wagenvoort to look at the photos the police posted of the Ambonstraat fireworks. "There are also consumer fireworks in there. No heavy fireworks. There is a box with 1.3 on it. That is a category of fireworks that is not for consumers, but it does not necessarily have to be very heavy fireworks."
Het vuurwerkteam van de politie heeft in de Ambonstraat te Meppel op twee adressen voor ongeveer 400 kg in totaal aan professioneel zwaar vuurwerk in beslag genomen voor onderzoek. Dit vuurwerk wordt vervolgens vernietigd en de verdachten zullen worden gehoord. ^tvdv pic.twitter.com/eRdPdS8FbL
— Politie Meppel (@POL_Meppel) November 29, 2018