Europol on 6th December reported that illegal fireworks are a huge Europe-wide problem. Their unregulated distribution causes considerable safety risks to those shipping and buying them due to their substantial explosive character, as well as millions of euro in tax losses for some economies. Action days in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany have resulted in 35 organised crime group members arrested in Poland, and the seizure of fireworks, the blocking of webshops and more than 150 searches of residences and businesses. 4 webshops involved in the sale of the illegal fireworks by the criminals – bombashop.com, ultrasshop.com, psychoeffect.eu and pyrofans.eu – were blocked at the request of the Dutch authorities, and their data were seized. In Poland, 80 tons of F4 fireworks were seized from a warehouse, an amount large enough to fill 4 large shipping containers. Unmarked parcels containing illegal fireworks were also intercepted and seized in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany prior to distribution to the buyers. The crime group was primarily composed of Polish nationals, and was involved in the trafficking of fireworks illegally sold online to clients throughout Europe, and shipped by courier and normal post in unmarked packages.
