The domestic executive has been carrying out tightened border controls for weeks to detect illegal fireworks. At the Weigetschlag border crossing near Bad Leonfelden, officials also checked vehicles on Saturday to see if attempts had been made to smuggle in banned fireworks and rockets.
Less than a three-minute drive from the Weigetschlag (Upper Austria) border crossing, Vietnamese traders in the Czech Republic are flourishing in the illegal trade in incendiaries, fireworks and rockets. As a local inspection of “Krone” showed, it is easy to obtain the most powerful explosives and fireworks without any pyrotechnic certificate.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and expertise that would be required for the highest categories of pyrotechnics, accidents with serious injuries continue to occur. The fact that the largely prohibited goods are being smuggled into the country on a large scale has not gone unnoticed by the police. It has been carrying out ‘Operation Sharp’ on the Austrian-Czech border for weeks.
Like black powder
Targeted checks were again carried out by local police officers in Weigetschlag near Bad Leonfelden on Saturday. Vehicles were checked for eight hours from 1 p.m. An explosives detection dog was also present. And the results were impressive. “In the first five hours alone we have already secured ten kilograms of net explosive mass – that is like black powder,” confirms Gerhard Koll (56), deputy chief of the district police in the Urfahr area.
Category F3 and F4
This time, fireworks in the F3 and F4 categories were mainly taken out of circulation. Koll: “I am surprised that we have been able to arrest so many ill-educated people in such a short time today. Because by now everyone should know that there are strict controls at the border.”
Source: Krone
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