Nearly 50,000 pounds of illegal fireworks seized, 7 arrested in Cal Fire bust

Almost 50,000 pounds of illegal fireworks were seized and seven people arrested over the last two weeks following a years-long investigation into an illegal fireworks ring operating throughout the state, Cal Fire announced Thursday.

The seizure, which is one of the largest in Cal Fire history, is the result of an investigation spanning three years and involving 80 investigators who performed "significant surveillance," said Shane Cunningham, Cal Fire's chief of law enforcement.

At a news conference on the steps of the Capitol, Cunningham said the investigation identified suspects who had been running an illegal fireworks ring for at least 30 years, importing and selling aerial fireworks from Nevada and Montana.