Unlicensed fireworks valued at SR400,000 were seized and destroyed in Riyadh during Ramadan, said the head of field administrative control patrols at Riyadh police.
Maj. Bandar Mahboub said the crackdown campaign on fireworks shops resulted in capturing 30 sellers, mostly Saudis, including 18 who were wanted by security forces.
The seized items were destroyed in the presence of committee members representing the administrative control, traffic, research and investigation, special task forces, and Riyadh governorate, he said.
A woman who was among those arrested tried to hide herself in a house. The owner of the house turned her in to police, he said. The arrested also included Yemenis.
Mahboub said the committee is primarily specialized in eliminating dangerous crackers and, in one case, it found fireworks operational as the base for rocket launchers.
The campaign is composed of 12 squads working around the clock. Each squad conducted inspection tours to markets in Riyadh.
Legal fireworks will illuminate the skies over Riyadh during the first two or three days of Eid Al-Fitr holidays from 9.30 p.m. to 9.40 p.m. The fireworks, as part of the Eid festivities, are normally conducted by municipal authorities in specific locations in the city and habitually attract large crowds.
Police destroy SR400,000 worth of illegal fireworks
