Both consumer and large aerial display fireworks are illegal in the state, and an inter-governmental group has its eyes on tackling the issue.
Senate Bill 821, now known as Act 67, created an Illegal Firework Task Force through the state's Department of Law Enforcement.
The group will try to control the flow of illegal fireworks into the state. The measure came with a $1.25 million appropriation.
DLE Director Jordan Lowe said this task force will be a collaborative effort building on past investigations.
"Based on prior investigations and current intelligence, there's various methods, (illegal fireworks) can come in," Lowe said during an interview last week.
Illegal fireworks can come in via containers and domestic shipments from the mainland, but also foreign shippers from China and India.
Last October, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that an estimated $2.7 million worth of illegal fireworks were found in a shipment at the Port of Honolulu and sent back to the continent to be destroyed.
"Both methods have different problems and how we will interdict those shipments, but what we're also finding is people are using the U.S. mail service to try to bring fireworks into the state and other common carriers," Lowe said.
The task force will be made up of local county police departments, the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as Homeland Security Investigations.
