The New York City Police Department announced on Saturday, July 3, that it has taken $54,000 worth of illegal fireworks off the streets in the weeks leading up to Sunday’s Fourth of July holiday. Agency officials said these actions were made in collaboration with the NYC Sherriff’s Office, the FDNY Fire Marshall and the NYC Fireworks Task Force which is comprised of multiple agencies including the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, and Port Authority Police.

 

In three separate Intelligence Bureau operations carried out in June and early July, agency officials said investigators made 22 fireworks-related arrests and seized six illegal firearms. They said nearly half of those arrested live in Brooklyn and five have a record of at least ten prior arrests — including two people with 42 and 33 prior arrests, respectively.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the intelligence bureau had been an integral part of the task force which had been working with the Sheriff and fire marshals to develop information on major suppliers, intercepting illegal fireworks as they came into New York City from out of state distributors, and targeting locations where they were stored before sale (where the fireworks were creating a fire and explosion hazard).

 

He called out those sellers who peddle illegal fireworks which he said result in serious injuries to adults and children every summer in New York City. “These arrests and seizures to date demonstrate our focused, unrelenting commitment to [the] mission,” he said.

 

According to NYPD officials, the seizures came about as a result of three distinct operations, as follows:

• Operation Roman Candle — NYPD investigators developed information on individuals believed to be trafficking large amounts of illegal fireworks in New York City. To date, Operation “Roman Candle” resulted in 15 fireworks-related arrests, and the confiscation of roughly $22,000worth of illegal fireworks.
• Cyber Intelligence Unit Controlled Buy — After conducting an investigation into sales of illegal fireworks via Craigslist, NYPD officers identified and arrested an individual at a location in Brooklyn’s 94th precinct, charging the individual with violating PL 270.00 for Unlawful Sale of Fireworks over $500. Subsequent to the arrest, officers also uncovered and confiscated roughly $15,000 worth of fireworks.
• Field Intelligence Team Operations — On five separate occasions, field intelligence teams at the precinct level used the tenets of the NYPD’s Neighborhood Policing philosophy to develop information. These community-based leads led to their executing search warrants that resulted in six fireworks-related arrests and seizures, and the confiscation of $7,800 worth of fireworks. In addition, six illegal firearms were confiscated, along with other contraband.

 

Police officials said the operations represent an array of NYPD intelligence-based policing strategies that are at the core of the department’s public safety mission. They said all of the individuals apprehended were male and the majority were in their 20s and 30s. In terms of criminal records, the arrestees ranged from first-time offenders to individuals with significant prior arrests.

 

While their criminal offenses varied, they said many had been arrested previously for violent felony offenses, including eleven for weapons possession. During Operation “Roman Candle,” eight of the individuals stopped had been arrested previously for assault, including one individual who had been convicted of assaulting a police officer and another who had been arrested for attempted murder.