Strengthening firecracker prevention at the end of the year

(Baonghean) - It has been 22 years since the Prime Minister issued Directive 406/CT-TTg on "banning the production, trade and use of fireworks" and a series of other decrees, decisions and plans. However, up to now, the sound of fireworks has not stopped on New Year's Eve, and in recent years, the use of fireworks has increased.

Violate

According to statistics from the Department of Administrative Management of Social Order - Provincial Police, as of December 16, the functional forces of the industry have discovered and arrested 71 cases, 82 subjects of illegal trading, storing, and transporting of firecrackers, confiscated 673.7 kg of firecrackers; mobilized people to collect 16.2 kg of various types of firecrackers.

If calculated from November 2015 to the end of August 2016, the whole province has discovered and arrested 203 cases, 263 subjects related to the act of buying, selling, transporting, storing firecrackers, confiscating 3,553 kg of firecrackers. Particularly from the beginning of September until now, the Provincial Police have discovered and arrested 39 cases, 41 subjects related to the act of buying, selling, transporting firecrackers, confiscating 379.87 kg of firecrackers.

Dien Chau police arrested a subject transporting 12 kg of firecrackers.

Typically, at 2:00 p.m. on December 2, the Vinh City Police General Investigation Team coordinated with Ben Thuy Ward Police to conduct an administrative inspection at room 204, Kim Loan Hotel, Block 14, Ben Thuy Ward, Vinh City. Thereby, they caught Nguyen Ba Hung (born in 1990), residing in Quynh Phu District, Thai Binh Province, in the act of making firecrackers.

Evidence seized at the scene included: 1 plastic bag containing pink powder, which is fireworks, weighing 3.4 kg; 1 sack containing white powder, which is sodium benzoate, weighing 23.8 kg; 1 sack containing white powder, which is potassium chlorate, weighing 23.4 kg; 1 white plastic box containing reddish-brown powder, which is Fe2O3; 1 white plastic box containing white crystals, and 1 blender. These are the raw materials and tools for producing fireworks.

Then, on December 18, receiving information from the people, the Traffic Police force (Ministry of Public Security) coordinated with Dien Chau Traffic Police Station (Traffic Police Department of Nghe An Province Police) to plan to block the passenger bus with license plate 34B-013.84, driven by Dam Van Khang (born in 1977, residing in Thach Khoi commune, Hai Duong city, Hai Duong province).

Upon inspection, the authorities discovered that the vehicle was carrying 3 white foam boxes containing 1,142 firecrackers and 24 36-round firecrackers. The total weight was nearly 100 kg of firecrackers.

The above statistics show that the current situation of smuggling of firecrackers is quite complicated. Instead of rushing to bring goods back at the end of the year, now they quietly transport them all year round. Waiting until the New Year, they start to break up the goods to sell. Because they know that at the end of the year, the forces will launch peak campaigns to fight and prevent the sale and storage of firecrackers, so the transportation is easier to detect.

Super profitable item

To answer the question of why firecrackers still explode and why Nghe An is always a hot spot for trading and using firecrackers during the Lunar New Year, first, it can be affirmed that firecrackers are currently a super profitable commodity.

Learning from a person who was arrested for trading and storing firecrackers named Tran Van T. in Dien Chau district, he said: "Firecrackers bought across the border cost only 3,000 VND/cake, but if they are successful, they will be sold for 30,000 - 40,000 VND/cake; Mr. Su firecrackers on the market are currently around 20,000 - 30,000 VND/piece; fireworks in sets, each set has 8, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 pieces, currently selling for 400,000 - 1,000,000 VND/set...

On the days before Tet, the price of firecrackers can be pushed up higher by smugglers. What is special is that the selling price is 10 times higher than the original price. It can be seen that, with all the current products, illegal firecracker trading is a super profitable product, so the subjects always find ways to bypass the authorities.

Secondly, in previous years, fireworks were mainly transported by sea or from the northern border gates by road. In recent years, in addition to smuggling through the "traditional" routes, fireworks have been smuggled from Laos in many forms. It can be by passenger cars, trucks through the border gates of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh provinces... and also by small-scale border routes...

The case of Cao Veu Border Control Station, Phuc Son Border Post discovering and arresting Ha Van Tam, a Thai ethnic, transporting 27 kg of firecrackers from Laos to Vietnam for consumption on February 4 is a proof.

The reason why the firecracker trade is increasing is also due to people's psychology, it has even become a "culture", that is, many people still consider that setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve not only has the meaning of welcoming the new year, but also creates convenience for "grandparents and ancestors" to come back for their children and grandchildren to worship.

Obviously this is a misconception, because reality has proven that burning fireworks is not only a waste of money but also very dangerous. That is dust and noise pollution; the production, transportation, trade and use of fireworks have caused many unfortunate accidents, even loss of life...

In addition, there are legal problems. The 2014 Investment Law stipulates that fireworks are in the list of conditional business sectors, from which there is an opinion that fireworks are not "prohibited goods" and therefore cannot be criminally prosecuted.

However, the 2015 Commercial Law assigns the Government to regulate prohibited, restricted and conditional business goods issued together with Decree 59/2006/ND-CP of the Government, identifying types of fireworks in the list of prohibited goods and services.

Troubleshooting

In order to remove difficulties and obstacles in legal regulations on handling illegal production, trading, transportation and storage of firecrackers, on November 22, 2016, the 14th National Assembly passed the Law on Amendments and Supplements to Article 6 and Appendix 4 of the 2014 Investment Law.

Accordingly, firecracker residues are prohibited from trading and removed from the list of conditional trading items. At the same time, the draft amends and supplements the provisions on criminal handling of acts of trading, storing and transporting fireworks in quantities of 6 kg or more. This is an important legal basis for the fight against and prevention of acts of trading, transporting and storing explosive fireworks.

In addition, the Provincial Police advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Plan No. 541/KH-UBND dated September 6, 2016, directing sectors and localities to promptly deploy solutions to prevent and combat fireworks during the Lunar New Year 2017.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai - Deputy Director of the Provincial Police Department said: Learning from last year's experience, this year we will have more synchronous and drastic solutions during Tet holidays, especially New Year's Eve.

Direct the police of districts, cities and towns to advise the People's Committees at the same level to establish inspection teams and provide guidance on firecracker prevention and control, headed by the district-level People's Committee leaders themselves; direct each ward, commune and town to establish working groups to propagate and inspect firecracker prevention and control and directly inspect each village, hamlet and residential area.

The Provincial Police will direct the establishment of working groups to directly inspect firecracker prevention and control work at units and localities; at the same time, based on the crime situation and firecracker violations in the area, a plan will be developed to maximize the Provincial Police force to the grassroots to coordinate firecracker prevention and control and ensure security during Tet.

And more importantly, in addition to the efforts of the police force, there is a great need for synchronous participation from all levels of government, relevant sectors, organizations and people.

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