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A report submitted to the �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ�� Legislature Friday concludes that illegal fireworks are being smuggled into the state by sea and air on a year-round and possibly daily basis.

It’s sustained by a flourishing and well-established black market that local law enforcement has found difficult to disrupt and dismantle.

The report from the state’s Illegal Fireworks Task Force urges the Legislature to consider creating a full-time criminal investigation unit within the to confront the problem on a permanent basis.

“Only a full-time approach can bring the necessary cultural changes to confront the fireworks problem at-large in Hawaii,” the report states.

While specific funding, staffing and equipment for the unit are not suggested in the report, it also recommends a new firearms and explosives laboratory — estimated to cost $2 million — within the law enforcement agency. �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ�� has only one forensic lab, housed in the Honolulu Police Department.

Sen. Karl Rhoads, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, welcomed the recommendation for a new criminal unit.

“I think it’s the only really viable idea because, as they point out, there’s a lot of similarities between narcotics and fireworks,” Rhoads said. “And they’ve been using the narcotics investigators to investigate fireworks cases. That’s great in the short term, but it’s not going to work in the long term.”

An ‘Alluring Attraction’ To Make Money Illegally

The task force’s work was ordered by lawmakers in 2023, long before the massive fireworks explosion on New Year’s Eve in a Salt Lake neighborhood on Oʻahu. As of Monday, four people have been reported dead and around two dozen injured from that explosion, while another person was killed in a separate fireworks-related incident on Oʻahu.

Now, leaders including �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s governor, Honolulu’s mayor and several state senators and representatives are stepping up their demands for action.

In addition to the Department of Law Enforcement, agencies taking part in the task force include the Honolulu Police Department, the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Customs and Border Control.

Their recommendations are likely to be considered by the Legislature, which convenes Jan. 15.

The Illegal Fireworks Task Force, which will conclude its work in June unless the Legislature extends its mission, was required to submit a final report this month. It previously reported that 227,000 pounds of illegal fireworks have been seized.

The Friday report says that two people have pleaded no contest to felony indictments and 20 others were issued misdemeanor citations. The report says there are ongoing criminal investigations, so public discussion of tactics, techniques and procedures “would frustrate legitimate government interests.”

The report, though only eight pages long, offers several insights into why the illegal enterprise is so popular. It calls the marketplace “an alluring attraction” for those looking to make money illegally.

Street sources, according to the report, say that the return on investment for those who smuggle illegal fireworks into Hawaii is at a rate of 5 to 1. That means that if a typical smuggling organization purchases a shipping container of fireworks for $200,000 at wholesale, that same container has a street value of about $1 million once it arrives in the islands.

‘Kingpins, Conspirators’ Run Illicit Networks

During the 2023 holiday season the task force found that street prices for illegal fireworks were already “astronomically high.” The Department of Law Enforcement said prices had been expected to be higher during the 2024 holiday season because there was “heat” from law enforcement and risk of loss of investment due to bulk seizures.

In short, the task force aims “to price offenders out of the marketplace,” leading to reduced demand.

But it will take long-term, comprehensive investigations to not only seize prohibited explosive material but also to find and prosecute the people running the illicit networks — “kingpins, conspirators, and their associated criminal finances and assets.”

To do that, a new crime unit is necessary because the task force is only part time. While claiming success from its work, the task force concept in the long term “is not sustainable” the report states.

It does not call for increased penalties for possession of contraband. Nor does it accomplish two of its primary purposes: to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to stop illegal fireworks, and to ensure the safety and security of airports, harbors and other facilities from explosive discharges.

The first goal requires more work, the report states, which will begin “in earnest” this year. And, while the task force says it has increased awareness and surveillance at Hawaii’s ports of entry and mail distribution systems, “a sustained full-time effort” is needed.