Illegal fireworks seized in suburban Shanghai
As the new year draws near, Shanghai police are looking out for illegal fireworks and firecrackers being sold in or transported into the city.
Police in Chongming District said they discovered 30 of the illegal objects in a grocery store during an inspection there on December 19.
The shop owner, a man surnamed Zhang, said a vendor sold the fireworks and firecrackers to him at a low price.
Zhang was fined 5,000 yuan (US$725) for the offense.
The illegal fireworks and firecrackers seized in the Chongming case
In Jiading District, a grocery store owner surnamed Liu was detained for five days after police found 13 boxes of illegal fireworks and firecrackers from his shop.
On December 14, police in Jinshan District discovered 436 boxes of illegal fireworks and firecrackers in a truck that was entering Shanghai from Zhejiang Province.
The driver of the truck claimed that the boxes contained toys, police said.
In previous years, fireworks and firecrackers in Shanghai were allowed to be legally sold in districts entirely or partially located in suburban areas, with only one or two legal sellers in each of the districts.
Shanghai bans the use of fireworks and firecrackers in the area within the Outer Ring Road.
