Kochi: The Kochi city police on Thursday seized four tonnes of illegally stored firecrackers from a shop functioning near a school. The New Kochi Syndicate, a shop at Market Road near St Mary's higher secondary school, had licence only for storing a limited quantity of explosives. Close to 1,000 students are studying in the school and the market road is one of the busiest in the city.
The police team conducted a raid on the shop after a tip-off. The shadow wing of the Kochi city police led by SI Gopakumar arrested Azad of Pullepady and his three employees. The police found that Azad used his shop to manufacture firecrackers and stored them in four separate buildings. According to the police, he had licence to store only 450 kg of Chinese firecrackers and 50 kg of local products in a single room. The firecrackers were made using explosive substances like potassium nitrate, the police said.
