Executive charged in import of fireworks
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
The vice president of a Kalihi fish and produce distribution company has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of importing large "display-type" aerial fireworks without a license.
Sam Hugh, vice president of Ham Produce Seafood Inc., also was charged with falsifying customs documents allegedly to hide an intention to take possession of half of a shipment of fireworks brought to Hawai'i from Hong Kong.
Ed Kubo, U.S. Attorney for Hawai'i, said agents from the U.S. Customs Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, seized 466 cartons of "heavy explosive material" on June 27 of last year from the Ham Produce warehouse at 918 Bannister St.
Hugh was charged with two importation counts, each of which carry a prison term of up to 10 years, and one falsifying documents count, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.
Michael Cox, a Customs Service supervisory special agent, said the fireworks ranged from 2 to 12 inches in diameter and took up about 700 square feet of space in a non air-conditioned third floor loft at the company's warehouse.
Cox said the fireworks seized from Ham Produce were worth an estimated $250,000 and could only have been sold legally to licensed fireworks display operators.
He said it took about a year to complete the investigation necessary to bring charges against Hugh who was indicted June 20. Cox said investigators believe some of the fireworks were brought to Hawaii as far back as 1999.
If not stored properly, fireworks become less stable over time, greatly increasing the chances of accidental explosion, Cox said. The fireworks were taken to an ATF bunker for safekeeping and will be destroyed after the case against Hugh is resolved, Cox said.
Hugh, 35, was released on $50,000 bail with a tentative trial date of Aug. 20.
With the Fourth of July holiday approaching, law enforcement officials cautioned Hawai'i residents about purchasing or using illegal fireworks. While the use of aerial fireworks in Hawai'i is against the law, except by licensed fireworks display operators, the skies are filled with them every New Year's Eve and to a lesser extent on the night of Fourth of July.
A 25-year-old Waialua man was killed on Jan. 1, 2000, when a fiberglass "mortar tube" used to launch aerial fireworks malfunctioned and exploded. Customs agents yesterday said the fireworks confiscated from the Ham company warehouse were similar to those involved in that fatal accident. They do not believe the fireworks obtained by Hugh were sold to amateurs or anyone else.
While small firecrackers can be purchased by people who have proper permits, the fireworks seized from the Kalihi warehouse were potentially deadly, Kubo said.
"What I am talking about in this case is the importation and dealing in large explosive materials, which are shot up into our skies for display and which are so dangerous they can maim and kill if not properly regulated, stored and handled," Kubo said.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.
