Illegal firework usage explodes nationwide
Firework complaints rise by 236 percent in New York City; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
New York City police have busted a group with a massive arsenal of illegal fireworks on Staten Island -- but what was most shocking may have been the dead alligators found with the trove.
“We are not making that up,” The New York City Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday on Twitter.
NYPD CALLS ON PUBLIC TO HELP CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL USE OF FIREWORKS AFTER COMPLAINTS SKYROCKET
In all, 10 people were arrested on multiple counts of unlawfully dealing with dangerous fireworks and unlawfully transporting three alligator carcasses, police said.
No further information was immediately available about the dead alligators or why the group was transporting the fireworks.
The sheriff’s office said it expects to continue making arrests as part of the ongoing fireworks trafficking sting, the Staten Island Advance reported.
FIREWORKS COMPLAINTS SURGE AS HIGH AS 4,000 PERCENT IN NORTHWAST CITIES -- WHAT'S BEHIND IT?
Fireworks complaints surged as much as 4,000 percent earlier this month compared to last year in places like New York City.
Law enforcement has been cracking down on the trafficking of illegal fireworks, making multiple busts in this week alone.
Police nabbed 12 individuals in the Bronx on Wednesday with numerous cases of fireworks, along with two assault rifles and a handgun, investigators said.
In East Flatbush in Brooklyn, police arrested two more people Wednesday for trafficking fireworks from Pennsylvania valued at more than $2,500. That same day, the sheriff’s Fireworks Task Force arrested two people in Brooklyn for unlawfully dealing with fireworks worth more than $2,000, also trafficked from Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, FDNY Fire Marshals on Tuesday arrested two people on Staten Island for possession of more than $6,000 worth of illegal fireworks.
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Fireworks are illegal in New York City, and authorities are urging the public to report the use, delivery or sale of fireworks.
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