For weeks now, the domestic executive has been carrying out increased border controls to detect illegal fireworks. At the Weigetschlag border crossing near Bad Leonfelden, officials also checked vehicles on Saturday to see whether any attempts were made to smuggle in banned firecrackers 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 business of incendiary ball bombs, firecrackers and rockets. As a “Krone” local inspection showed, it is easy to get hold of the most powerful explosives and fireworks without any pyrotechnics certificate. Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and expertise that would be necessary for the highest categories of pyrotechnics, this happens again and again Accidents with serious injuries. The fact that the largely banned goods are being smuggled into the country on a large scale has not gone unnoticed by the police. For weeks it has been carrying out an “Operation Sharp” on the Austrian-Czech border.Like Black PowderIn Weigetschlag near Bad Leonfelden there were again targeted checks by local police officers on Saturday. Vehicles were checked for eight hours starting at 1 p.m. An explosives detection dog was also on duty. And the results were impressive. “In the first five hours alone we have already secured ten kilograms of net explosive mass – that’s like black powder,” confirms Gerhard Koll (56), deputy district police chief in the Urfahr area. Category F3 and F4 This time it was mainly fireworks in categories F3, but also the F4 category has been taken out of circulation. Koll: “I’m surprised that we were able to catch so many unteachable people in such a short time today. Because by now everyone should really know that there are strict controls at the border.”
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