A 25-year-old man from Sint Willebrord, who is seen as one of the largest traders in illegal fireworks in the Netherlands, was sentenced on Monday to thirty months in prison, of which ten months on probation. The fireworks dealer must also give up his illegal profit, 63,000 euros in total.
In June last year, nearly 30,000 pieces of fireworks were found in the man’s home, garage, farm shed and several vehicles. The suspect came to the fore in several investigations into the import of and trade in illegal fireworks in 2020 and 2021. He sold and imported fireworks.
Size and danger
The suspect himself called himself ‘the largest fireworks dealer in the Netherlands’ on the Telegram message service. The Public Prosecution Service and now also the court find this a credible observation, given the enormous amount of illegal fireworks that have been seized.
In determining the sentence, the court takes into account the extent of the suspect’s import and trade and the fact that the suspect endangered the safety of others. He didn’t care about the risks and was only interested in making a profit. On the other hand, the court takes into account that the man has not previously been convicted of similar offences. That man confessed that he traded illegally in fireworks and the judge took that into account in his decision.
Chance of recurrence
According to the court, there is a risk of recurrence. It is a very lucrative business. Among other things, a cargo of 4,764 kilograms of fireworks has been seized, which is a major financial blow to the man. As a big sticking point, the court therefore imposes a substantial suspended sentence (ten months) with a probationary period of three years.
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