Naples – A widespread powder keg, ready to explode in the hands of unwary shoppers or blow up residential buildings. The Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza in Naples has drawn up a war-like tally on the eve of the Christmas holidays: over 300 illegal fireworks removed from the black market, weighing a total of 2,5 tons.
The Guardia di Finanza's crackdown on the illegal firecracker business has led to seven people being reported and two people being arrested red-handed, accused of manufacturing and illegally selling explosives.
The operations, conducted across the entire metropolitan area, involved the financial police of the Economic and Financial Police Unit, the Green Berets of the Emergency Response Group, and the territorial units of Frattamaggiore, Nola, Casalnuovo, and Ottaviano. The sting was on "hot" areas such as Casoria, Ercolano, Nola, Acerra, San Giuseppe Vesuviano, and several neighborhoods in the capital.
Ercolano: Homemade bombs in the courtyard
One of the most critical operations took place in Ercolano, where the Green Berets stopped a young man carrying a homemade explosive device hidden in a shipping bag. The military's stop prompted a more thorough search, which uncovered an arsenal hidden in the undergrowth of a courtyard used by the young man: 61 homemade explosive devices, illegal replicas of the powerful "Cobra 11" devices, lacking any safety markings.
Three kilos of pure explosives, described by the bomb squad as "deadly," capable of causing structural damage to buildings and very serious injuries. The young man, arrested for illegal possession of explosives, was tried following a fast-track trial and sentenced by the Court of Naples to one year and four months in prison.
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The ammunition depot in the center of Acerra
Even more alarming was the discovery made in Acerra. In an attic located in the city center, officers found over 460 pieces of explosives, including "onions," canisters, and the infamous "Neapolitan batteries." All highly explosive material, stored without any safety precautions in an inhabited building. An accidental detonation could have caused a massacre. The owner of the property was placed under house arrest.
Anonymous shipments and illegal deposits
The illegal sales network also runs through logistics channels. In Nola, illegal fireworks were intercepted inside anonymous packages at a shipping center, ready to be sorted.
Other seizures occurred in Naples shops that freely sold non-compliant material, and in illegal warehouses discovered in Casoria and San Giuseppe Vesuviano.
The Guardia di Finanza's offensive doesn't stop there. As New Year's Eve approaches, checks will be intensified to break the distribution chain of these explosive devices, which, every year, turn the holiday into a tragedy.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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