Counterfeit Fireworks: The Illegal Burst during New Year’s Celebrations
It has only been two days since New Year’s Eve, marking the welcome of 2024.
Whether setting up illegal factories or importing illegally produced firecrackers from China, selling Counterfeit Fireworks is a concerning issue for New Year’s Celebrations.
The sale of Counterfeit Firecrackers brings the concern for government and enforcement authorities to put significant efforts into stopping the spread of fake crackers that can turn a celebration like New Year’s Eve into a disastrous event.
What harm can Counterfeit Fireworks cause?
Bringing the consequences to the limelight and quantifying the cases of counterfeit fireworks has been a ‘task’ for the authorities. It is because a customer or a buyer will never know the difference between an original and a fake firecracker.
The packaging, design, and materials: all look indistinguishably identical to the certified initial ones. But, in reality, the harm is caused by what constituents and ingredients are used to make a thrilling ‘Burst’.
A severe case of unattended and unfollowed regulations happened when low-quality firecrackers turned into a deadly fire in west-central Russia, leading to 150 casualties from the illegally produced firecrackers imported from Chinese markets.
“Russia is flooded with counterfeit fireworks. Most of them come from China, but there are other countries involved,” Dmitry Polikanov, advisor to the Head of the Central Executive Committee at the United Russia party, told Russia Today, adding that the cheap, low-quality pyrotechnics caused the deadly fire.
Recently, a two-year-long investigation came to an end when the German Regional Police (Landespolizei Osnabrück), the Dutch National Police (Politie) and the Dutch Prosecution Office of Amsterdam (Functioneel Parket), supported by Europol, seized 350 tonnes of dangerous fireworks in Germany and Netherlands.
The investigation was initiated in 2020 under the influence of intelligence based on Operation Encrochat. It took a significant turn when police started to increasingly find its links to organised criminal networks using high explosives and dangerous fireworks in acts of violence and other significant criminal activities, such as explosive ATM attacks that were carried out in Germany.
Last year in October, German and Dutch authorities took custody of 11 suspects who had played logistical roles, such as facilitating transport, storing the fireworks or acting as a point of contact with buyers.
As a result, the enforcement authorities from Germany and the Netherlands tapped several locations such as business and storage facilities, barns and bunkers. In total, seven such illegally operating facilities were uncovered that were using these locations to store illegal fireworks, which were unadhered to the safety standards for storing such highly explosive materials.
When the authorities — backed by Europol — evaluated the amount, it came to 350 tonnes of illegal fireworks, holding a commercial value of EUR 25 million.
Why is there a market for Counterfeit Fireworks?
Unlike other fake products, counterfeit fireworks have a limited market that usually rises during festivals and holidays. But, even though the market only has a small window for its sales, it happens to have spiking numbers in its sales volumes.
The demand for cheaper alternatives to legitimate fireworks often drives the illegal market for counterfeit fireworks. The high demand created during festive periods is a prominent reason for more affordable alternatives. However, in a juxtapositional irony, the joy and thrill of lighting off fireworks also become a joy and thrill for counterfeiters to lure customers and fulfil their financial aid for other criminal activities.
The higher volume demands and lower cost desires just find the right fit for counterfeiters to inject fake firecrackers into the market. However, a significant concern for such products is that they are sold over online mediums and marketplaces without any regulations and checks under the safety standards. Moreover, perpetuating sales through online mediums gives fraudsters an edge regarding tracking down the source and manufacturing provenances of the firecrackers.
In this case from 2018, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) seized over 32,000 illegal fireworks in the country, with an estimated value of over $1.4 million. The majority of these fireworks were found to be counterfeit, with many being sold online through unauthorised sellers.
Who should be concerned about Fake Firecrackers?
- Consumers: Fake firecrackers can pose a safety risk, as they may be made with inferior materials that can malfunction or cause life-threatening accidents.
- Manufacturers of legitimate firecrackers: The sale of fake firecrackers undermines legitimate businesses that manufacture and sell legal firecrackers. These businesses must adhere to strict safety regulations and often face competition from counterfeiters who can sell their products at a lower price.
- Authorities: Counterfeit firecrackers can be challenging to distinguish from legal firecrackers, making it difficult for authorities to enforce laws and regulations related to the sale and use of fireworks.
- The General Public: Fake firecrackers can harm the general public, as they may malfunction or cause accidents in public places. Moreover, even if they might not cause accidents, the general public is always prone to harmful, unethically manufactured gaseous substances that can affect individuals in the long run.
- Flora and Fauna: One of the disregarded concerns is that counterfeit firecrackers can substantially affect the Environment and Ecosystem of a geographical area. It can cause harm to stray animals or even have a negative effect on the ‘Oxygen Producers’ of a particular area. Moreover, unregulated materials used in manufacturing can have a lasting harmful impact on the air quality, can lead to water contamination, and, in the worst case, can disturb the ornithological ecosystem.
Concerning thoughts on Counterfeit Firecrackers for the New Year’s Celebrations
We have only been three days past the New Year’s Eve Celebrations, and the concern for Counterfeit Fireworks is just as significant as the New Year’s Celebrations.
We, as consumers, businesses, authoritative bodies, and manufacturers need to create a safe and regulated environment for our people and community. Therefore, here are some things that should be kept in mind when dealing with Counterfeit Fireworks:
1. As Consumers, we need to be more cautious about the attributes of a fake firecracker.
- A Fake one is sure to have any kind of misspelling or deviating design orientations in their Logo and markings against the original fireworks.
- Fraud Traders often tend to include everything on the packaging the same as the original, but only for the sake of having it. Just as an instance last year in October, some Environmentalists from Kolkata alleged highly-polluting firecrackers sold as ‘Green Fireworks’ with Fake QR Stamps on the packaging box.
2. As Firecrackers Businesses and Retailers flourish during the Holiday Season, it is also essential to verify the authenticity of the seller and import fireworks only from authorised sellers.
3. Authoritative and Enforcement bodies will need more efficient and robust systems around New Year’s and other Holiday Celebrations to monitor any occurrence of organised criminal activity in place of firecracker storage facilities.
4. But most importantly, Manufacturers need to have a two-way relationship with customers by adding legitimate QR Codes, developing verification sites, and providing contact details on their products. Moreover, spreading awareness through newspapers, on-box packaging, and advertisement channels is essential.
Is there a way to stop Fake Fireworks on Supply Chains?
Despite the indistinguishable attributes of Fake Fireworks, they are only supplied through illegal mediums and come through illicit modes of transport.
Therefore, even though counterfeiters try to disguise themselves as legitimate sellers and cloak for fair means of transport, the materials inside are not genuine.
Fortunately, businesses and logistics firms will be able to identify small counterfeit packages containing illegal fireworks coming through with the help of innovative technologies such as Countercheck.
The technology uses image recognition mechanisms and machine learning algorithms to identify illicit small parcels coming through the supply chain. This helps genuine manufacturers sideline counterfeit items, eventually inviting goodwill and revenue for their brand.
Go through this 1-minute video to understand how Countercheck intercepts more than 1000 Fake Small Parcels a month.
Start your Anti-Counterfeiting Journey with www.countercheck.com or reach out to Pietro Gagliano to know more.
