17 December, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The number of illegal sales of pyrotechnic products has increased in the Vitebsk region, BELTA was informed by the information and public relations department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. Over the past three days alone, two large batches of fireworks have been seized in the region. Thus, on December 14, officers of the Miory District Department of Internal Affairs identified the illegal sale of pyrotechnic products without quality certificates in a retail outlet located in Miory. Approximately 10,000 units of these products worth Br23.5 million were seized. An investigation is underway. A large batch was also discovered the previous day by law enforcement officers and the tax inspectorate during a raid in a retail pavilion of a private retail company in Braslav, where 6.2 thousand units of pyrotechnics worth over Br30 million were on sale. An administrative protocol has been drawn up in this regard under Article 23.48, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus. Close monitoring of pyrotechnic product circulation will be carried out in the region until New Year's Day and will also cover the first half of January, the Internal Affairs Directorate noted. -0-

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