BERLIN: German police said Sunday they confiscated 850 kilos of fireworks and firecrackers from a 23-year-old man in Hamburg, ahead of New Year's festivities.
Police were tipped off by the man's neighbour that he was stockpiling a large quantity of pyrotechnics.
Officers descending on the man's home found the fireworks packed into his apartment, cellar and two vans, a police spokeswoman told national news agency DPA. The pyrotechnics contained around 80 kilos of explosive substances -- 80 times over the limit of fireworks that can be legally stored in a private home.
Fireworks and rockets are an essential part of New Year's festivities in Germany, with revellers firing off huge amounts of pyrotechnics from balconies or their lawns.
They are sold on the last three days of the year, with people in Germany spending 137 million euros ($156 million) on them last year.
A representational image showing migrants waiting to be disembarked from a British border force vessel in Dover,...
Smoke billows from a vehicle allegedly burned by the Meitei community tribals protesting to demand inclusion under the...
The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge lies on top of the container ship Dali in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 29,...
Hope Hicks in 2018. She worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and in the White House during his presidency. — AFP...
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. — AFP FileLONDON: Britain’s opposition Labour Party won a parliamentary seat in...
Former British prime minister David Cameron. — AFP FileKYIV: Ukraine can use British weapons inside Russian...