The explosions of heavy fireworks can be heard more and more often. This is the time for the police to step up the hunt for illegal fireworks. A special team has been created for this purpose.
The Drenthe fireworks team is active all year round, but they are scaled up in the last months of the year. The aim is to detect as many illegal fireworks as possible. “People really don’t realize how bad the damage is. In terms of injuries and injuries, but also people who die from it,” says Benjamin van der Werf of the Drenthe fireworks team.
“We are mainly after prohibited fireworks. We want to get the illegal trade off the street, but we also tackle the nuisance. Many people are bothered by fireworks and, for example, no longer dare to walk their dogs.” The police receive many reports. “We investigate these, and we try to track down the illegal and prohibited items that are often found at home.” Officers also go out when fireworks nuisance is reported.
At the beginning of December, 1,300 kilos of professional fireworks were found in a warehouse in Emmen. At the end of November, kilos of prohibited fireworks, including heavy fireworks and decorative fireworks, were found in a home, also in Emmen. In mid-November, illegal fireworks and a fireworks pistol with associated cartridges were seized in Gasselte. And in August there was an explosion at a house in Coevorden. It turned out to have been caused by heavy fireworks outside the house.
There were also reports of nuisance. For example, at the beginning of December, residents of the Emmer districts of Emmerhout and Bargeres reported nuisance from fireworks. Questions were asked about this by various political parties.
The fireworks team is now working intensively, but will not cease to exist on January 2. “We are active all year round,” says van der Werf.