500 kilograms of banned firecrackers seized from Faridabad

Police said the driver, a resident of NIT in Faridabad, was allegedly involved in the purchase and transport of banned firecrackers

Faridabad police on Sunday night arrested a truck driver ferrying 500 kilograms of banned firecrackers and seized the contraband that he allegedly bought from Palwal for ₹1.5 lakh and planned to sell for ₹3 lakh in the retail market ahead of Diwali, said senior police officers.

Hemendra Kumar Meena, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said during questioning, the suspect revealed that the firecrackers were smuggled in from Tamil Nadu, Saran in Bihar, and Muzzafarnagar and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. (HT Photo)

Police said the driver, identified as Mukesh Thukral, a resident of NIT in Faridabad, was allegedly involved in the purchase and transport of banned firecrackers from Palwal to Faridabad.

Hemendra Kumar Meena, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said during questioning, the suspect revealed that the firecrackers were smuggled in from Tamil Nadu, Saran in Bihar, and Muzzafarnagar and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

“He bought firecrackers through a dealer in Palwal and he planned to sell them in retail in Faridabad to earn a profit. There are high margins on firecrackers, because the ban has impacted supply while the demand is still high,” he said.

Kumar said they received a tip-off that contraband crackers were being transported, and they formed a team that conducted a search and seized the truck near the Ballabhgarh bus stand. “The driver had placed plastic sacks containing firecrackers in the truck. The teams checked and seized 498 kilograms of banned firecrackers,” he said.

Rakesh Kumar Arya, Faridabad commissioner of police, said they have formed teams and placed barricades at all borders connecting Delhi, Nuh and Rajasthan to check the movement of banned firecrackers.

Illegal manufacturing units are still making traditional crackers as the cost of chemicals is very low compared to green crackers. The price of banned crackers is less and people prefer to buy them and the demand is still high in rural areas, said police.

On October 10, an explosion at a makeshift cracker factory in Nuh led to a 24-year-old man sustaining severe burn injuries.

Investigators said the explosion occurred at a house constructed on the fields of village Dudoli. They said a large quantity of firecrackers, gunpowder, and chemicals were illegally stored inside the house when the explosion occurred.