An enforcement unit has been set up to crack down on irregularities in the manufacture of fireworks.

This follows the introduction of harsher penalties related to the misuse of fireworks.

The Fireworks Inspectorate Unit will ensure that people transporting, manufacturing, storing or using fireworks illegally or without the necessary permits are brought to justice. The unit is made up of four inspectors who have started to carry out visits at random around Malta and Gozo since the beginning of the month.

The inspectors, coming from various backgrounds but specialised in chemistry, will be making unannounced inspections and will be called if any foul play is suspected.

Although no hotline exists to report suspected illegalities related specifically to fireworks, the phone calls made by the public to the police will be directed to the inspection unit.

In July, Parliament approved a Bill moved by the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs proposing amendments to the Explosives Ordinance.

Whereas the unlicensed manufacture of fireworks used to result in a fine of between €76 and €465 and a maximum of six months' imprisonment, the penalties have now been raised to fines of between €2,500 and €25,000 and imprisonment ranging from two to five years.

In addition, anyone caught storing or making fireworks in an unlicensed place now faces fines of between €15,000 and €50,000 and imprisonment of between six months to two years.

Earlier this summer, the ministry issued a call to recruit people with the required expertise to work as inspectors in this unit.

"The ministry is conducting a process to modernise the regulations governing this sector in order to regulate other aspects such as the materials used in the manufacture of fireworks, the strength of such explosive compounds and the places where they are manufactured," a spokesman said.

This modernisation is being undertaken with the full collaboration and cooperation of the Pyrotechnics Committee, considered to be a main stakeholder in this process.

This process comes in the wake of a number incidents related to fireworks factories, including the Naxxar tragedy last March where three houses were demolished and others were made uninhabitable by a blast that killed two people.