New York State Police Seize 400 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks in Central New York

It is officially fireworks season in Central New York and it's all in anticipation of the July 4th holiday. In cities and rural areas across the region nightly pops and explosions can be heard for miles, frightening dogs and other pets everywhere. Certain fireworks are allowed in New York State, but several are not. Recently, State Police conducted an illegal fireworks detail to weed out the ones that you can't legally purchase in the state.

State Police say they teamed up with Syracuse Police to investigate several convenience stores for the possession and sale of illegal fireworks. Police officials say during the course of the detail 73 convenience stores were checked for compliance and as a result 5 total arrests were made. State Police say in addition to the 5 arrests the detail led to,

• 435 pounds of fireworks seized
• 21 Uniform Traffic Tickets were issued in areas of Fireworks complaints
• 1 Misdemeanor Drug Arrest
• 1 Felony Fugitive from justice arrest following a traffic stop
• 8 calls for service responded to for fireworks complaints

Workers from 3 stores were arrested and charged with the violation of Unlawful Possession of Fireworks. They are

• Ahmed H. Klharrk (19) from Sham Market at 1215 Lodi Street
• Isam I. Deb (51) from Debs Market at 613 Wolf Street
• Mohamed M. Alzokari (19) from Teall Market at 825 Teall Avenue

During the course of their investigation, New York State Police also say they learned an individual was selling illegal fireworks out of his private residence on Burnet Avenue. As a result a surveillance team was established and that led to the arrest of 51-year-old Erik Stoddard and 27-year-old Samuel Baadani.

Police say this isn't the end of their search for illegal fireworks. They along with Syracuse Police say they will continue to check stores regularly and continue to patrol for illegal firework complaints and violations.