Dutch seized over 56,500 kg of illegal fireworks in 2018

Authorities in the Netherlands managed to confiscate 56,525 kilograms of illegal fireworks over the course of 2018, the Public Prosecutor revealed. The total far surpasses the amount seized in 2017 of 40,382.60 kilograms.

It represents a 40 percent increase. Several confiscations in the last week of the year pushed that number up by nearly 5,900 kilos.

The last week of the year represented the third-highest seizure of fireworks by Dutch authorities. Some 12,712 kilos were seized from November 12-18, and a little over 7,920 kg were taken between December 3-9.

That week in November was higher than the rest because of a single bust in Vijfhuizen, Noord-Holland, where boxes of illegal fireworks were stacked high in warehouses. Over 10 thousand kilograms were taken in that one bust.