10,000 pounds of illegal fireworks seized in Pasadena connected to Nevada street gang, officials say

Officials in Pasadena on Tuesday, June 23 announced the seizure of 10,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, as well as a handgun and improvised explosive devices, saying the items posed a threat to individuals and communities in an area that is vulnerable to wildfire.

The seizure of fireworks, whose street value was put at more than $120,000, was made Friday by Pasadena police and the Pasadena Fire Department Arson Investigation Team, who served a search warrant at 6316 Whittier Blvd. in Los Angeles, according to Pasadena Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.

The fireworks are connected to a street gang that imported them from Nevada, she said.

“An extensive investigation led them to discover illegal explosive fireworks being stored at the location, intended for distribution in Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley cities,” Derderian said.

It was the largest fireworks seizure ever in the Pasadena area, officials said at a news conference Tuesday morning, where images of the seized cache were on display along with a handgun and high-capacity magazines that were also taken as evidence.

A bomb squad from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau removed the items.

“This was a very coordinated effort,” Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said. “It removed lots of fireworks that could be harmful to not just individuals but communities given the experiences we’ve had in the past with fires.”

Four people have been arrested in connection with the seizure and more arrests could be coming in the following weeks, officials said.

Also seized was “a large quantity of marijuana products, an unregistered firearm with high-capacity magazines and documentation indicative of the sales of the illegal fireworks,” according to Derderian, who said the investigation is ongoing.