€30,000 fine and suspended jail term over illegal materials at Gozo fireworks factory

An elderly fireworks enthusiast, well-versed in the trade, was given a suspended jail term and fined €30,000 for storing detonators, death cords and other materials prohibited by law. Anthony Cauchi, 72, from Għarb, landed in hot water when, in February last year, a search by members from the Explosives Ordnance Disposal Unit at the Madonna tail-Virtu fireworks factory yielded unlicensed bullets, detonators, death cords and an air rifle. Although the man was fully licensed to manufacture fireworks, detonators and cords were prohibited materials under fireworks legislation, a fact which the accused, highly experienced in the trade, knew very well, the court observed. In a strong appeal to local authorities, magistrate Joseph Mifsud, presiding over criminal proceedings in Gozo, urged those concerned not to drag their feet unnecessarily whilst striving to strike a balance between the various interests at play. It was necessary for authorities to provide ‘authorised and secure premises’ to house such manufacturing activity, thereby cutting down on clandestine operations, bearing in mind the safety of those who manufactured the materials as well as of those living nearby. Punishment...