Some 18,500 pieces of fireworks were seized on Friday by the police in Mulhouse, a few days before the New Year, a period during which the sale of firecrackers is highly regulated in Alsace, we learned from the police and the prosecution. . Thanks to information, investigators identified a man who was offering all kinds of fireworks on social networks, at prices ranging from 5 to 20 euros.
They searched a home in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) and discovered more than 500 kg of fireworks including mortars, firecrackers, rockets as well as pyrotechnic devices which sell for some 500 euros each in Germany.
“The owner of the premises, a man aged around forty, was not at home. It appears he is currently in Germany. He should be heard by the police in the first days of January,” said Mulhouse public prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot, referring to a “very good seizure.”
Head torn off
The merchandise, whose resale value could exceed 200,000 euros, will be destroyed in the coming days. In Alsace, as in neighboring Germany, firecrackers and fireworks are very popular on New Year’s Eve, although they regularly cause serious injuries or even deaths.
During New Year’s Eve from 2020 to 2021, a young man died, his head torn off by a mortar. The prefect of Haut-Rhin, Thierry Queffélec, has banned pyrotechnic items and fireworks by prefectural decree until January 3.