Delhi Police's Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) of the North-East District arrested a supplier of banned firecrackers on 21 October 2026, recovering 57.8 kg of prohibited material from his possession, police confirmed on Thursday. The arrest is part of a targeted crackdown on the illegal supply of banned firecrackers ahead of the festive season.

How the Operation Unfolded

The AATS team, led by Inspector Deepak Pandey, in-charge of AATS North-East District, acted on a tip-off and laid a trap in the Ashok Nagar area of Delhi. The accused, identified as Vishal (35), a resident of Ashok Nagar, was intercepted while carrying multiple sacks containing banned firecrackers. The operation was conducted on the directions of senior officers.

Following the seizure, a case was registered under FIR No. 466/26, dated 21 October 2026, at Jyoti Nagar police station under Section 223(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 9B of the Explosives Act. An investigation has been initiated.

Accused's Prior Criminal Record

According to police, Vishal was not a first-time offender. He had previously been implicated in three criminal cases registered under Sections 188 and 286 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as Sections 223(A), 288, 115(2), 126(2), and 3(5) of the BNS. His history suggests an established pattern of involvement in firecracker-related violations.

Separate Mandoli Raid Recovers 567.30 kg

This arrest follows a larger operation earlier this month. On 12 October 2026, a joint team of the Delhi Police AATS and Harsh Vihar police station uncovered an illegal storage facility in Mandoli village, recovering 567.30 kg of firecrackers and related manufacturing material. The contraband was found stored in cartons and sacks on the first floor of a house in Gali No. 12, near the Government Senior Secondary School in Mandoli. One person was apprehended in that case.

An FIR (No. 315/2026) was registered at Harsh Vihar police station under Section 288 of the BNS and Section 9B of the Explosives Act, 1884. The recovered material was inspected, weighed, sampled, and seized following prescribed procedure.

The Broader Crackdown Context

Delhi has enforced a ban on firecrackers — particularly those producing harmful emissions — in the weeks preceding Diwali, citing acute air quality concerns in the National Capital Region. The two operations together account for more than 625 kg of seized material, signalling that enforcement agencies are intensifying ground-level action against illegal supply chains. Notably, this is not the first year such pre-festive raids have been conducted, but the scale of individual seizures points to persistent demand and organised supply networks operating in the city.

Further arrests in connection with both cases remain a possibility as investigations progress.