Italian police on Friday
sounded the alarm over a "bomb-like" and "weapons grade" New
year's Eve banger dubbed 'quota 100' after a government pension
reform.
"Quota 100 has devastating power," Carabinieri said.
"It contains 700-800 grammes of explosives, it is a real
bomb," they said.
"I urge everyone not to buy them," said Michele Landi, head
of the police bomb squad in Salerno south of Naples, where many
of the biggest illegal bangers are made.
"These products are nothing other than military ordnance and
as such must not be used, absolutely".
Police have recently been arresting people for selling
illegal fireworks, and seizing the potentially deadly products,
as a traditional holiday crackdown has continued in the runup to
the New Year.
Over the years, the most explosive finds have included
children's favourites like Bin Laden's Puppets, Saddam's Head,
Terminators, Spring Thunderers, Magnum Sams, Maradona's Balls
and the Vesuvius Firecracker.
De facto mortars and letter bombs weighing over a kilogramme
and packing a potentially lethal punch have regularly been
confiscated.
Every year Italian police launch campaigns aimed at easing
Italy's customary New Year mayhem.
The outrageous names of the most powerful fireworks are
targeted at youthful mayhem-lovers.
In one recent year the biggest banger was the Kamikaze, or
suicide-bomber.
The year before that, the fastest seller on the
backstreet firework market was the Bin Laden Bomb.
Police have confiscated stockrooms of potentially deadly
devices ahead of Italy's New Year's Eve firework fest,
especially in and around Naples, the city that each year has
the grimmest toll of injuries and sometimes deaths.
Last New Year's Day hundreds of Italians were nursing
burns and injuries and some lost fingers as a result of New
Year celebrations with fireworks that went wrong.
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