The Costa Rica Frontier Police intercepted yesterday (December 17) in the South Caribbean a truck carrying highly dangerous illegal fireworks.

According to the director of the Frontier Police, Commissioner Allan Obando, the officers found boxes containing 85,290 units of pyrotechnics, some which have the power to cause serious injuries and even kill someone.

In Costa Rica, the Law of Weapons and Explosives clearly states that those who sell, transport or store any illegal pyrotechnic goods could receive a sentence of up to seven years of prison.

The boxes were found when the police intercepted a truck driven by a Costa Rican during a road control operation in Tuba Creek Talamanca in the road that connects Limon with Sixaola near the Panama boarder.

The police suspects the items were purchased in Panama. In the boxes there were different types of fireworks, among them a type that is known to be very dangerous.

The Ministry of Health and the Department of Weapons and Explosives of the Ministry of Public Security have a list of the pyrotechnic articles that are legal and those who manipulate or sell fireworks in Costa Rica must have a special permit to do so. All explosive pyrotechnics are forbidden by law.

The National Children’s Hospital has been emphatic about the danger of using fireworks. A campaign has been launched this month precisely because the use of these materials increase during the Holiday Season “No fireworks are harmless, in 2016 we closed the year with over 400 children burned by fireworks, through November 2017 we already have 300 kids that have required medical attention as a consequence of the use of pyrotechnics”, stated Dr. Olga Arguedas, General Director of the National Children’s Hospital.