Overview
- Retailers report sharply higher sales before New Year, with industry group SVNC estimating roughly 30% more pre‑sales as many buyers treat this as their last legal chance.
- Police shut a shop in Groenlo and confiscated about 10,000 kilograms of fireworks, including prohibited items; the EOD assisted, one suspect was arrested, and officials cited permit breaches and tampering.
- Officers in Woerden seized 96 kilograms of illegal fireworks from a home after an anonymous tip, and the municipality imposed a penalty order that could cost the resident thousands of euros for any repeat violation.
- Safety incidents are mounting, including a Rotterdam police officer injured by fireworks and multiple container and vehicle fires, while regional authorities urge the public to reserve 112 for life‑threatening emergencies.
- Municipalities are deploying targeted measures such as area bans for youths in Oldebroek with a €3,000 penalty and temporary camera surveillance in several towns, and police are probing a Culemborg shop burglary that emptied its fireworks bunker.