Five soldiers and two policemen died in an explosion when illegal fireworks were being transported on an AFM patrol boat 31 years ago. Photo: Armed Forces of Malta

A father and son put the lives of travellers at risk on Thursday night when they were caught smuggling in over 4,000 “small fireworks” on the Sicily ferry.

The two men – a 34-year-old from Attard and a 63-year-old from Żebbuġ, Gozo – were carrying nine boxes, two sacks and two suitcases full of pyrotechnic material, amounting to 4,182 items, in a Maltese-registered van.

Sources described the find as consisting of “small fireworks, not large petards and not chemicals”.

Sources said the men’s foolish decision could have caused a huge explosion, given the vehicle and fuel on board the catamaran.

The feast in Żebbuġ, Gozo, where one of the suspects hails from, is being celebrated this weekend, though there were no immediate indications that the fireworks were destined to be used there.

When the suspects reached Malta on the catamaran at 11.45pm on Thursday, Customs officers stopped the van and asked the men whether they had anything to declare, and they replied they were only carrying carpets and pillows.

Unconvinced, the officers searched the van and found the fireworks under some pillows.

When contacted, Customs said there had been no tip-offs but one of the officers acted on his intuition because the way the cargo was loaded indicated it could be concealing something.

This was the first such haul on the Malta-Sicily ferry, a spokesman added. The army and the police were informed about the case and the duty magistrate is holding an inquiry.

The van was seized by the police for further investigation and the fireworks were transferred to a secure place.

When contacted, a spokesman for Virtu Ferries said it was the driver’s “absolute obligation” to declare they were carrying fireworks.

Carrying fireworks without declaring them did not only go against the carrier’s conditions of carriage but also violated the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.

He said that although the company had its own internal security system, port security officers checked the vehicles.

Most goods that travelled within the EU were self-declared, he added, while port authorities checked vehicles on land, which was how these two men were caught.

The incident brought back memories of a tragedy 31 years ago when five soldiers and two policemen died in an explosion that occurred when illegal fireworks were being transported on an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat for dumping at sea.

The explosion happened near Comino, destroying the bow section of the patrol boat.

Following a fireworks factory explosion in Għarb in 2010, Gozo Channel had announced no fireworks would be carried on its ferries.