Gardena police seize up to $10 million worth of illegal fireworks

Gardena police on Tuesday announced what they say is the largest single seizure of illegal fireworks in recent California history after they took more than 75 tons of the illicit property from a warehouse in Gardena over the weekend. 

Units with the department's Special Investigations Unit swarmed a commercial warehouse, located in the 17000 block of Vermont Avenue on Friday, where they found a warehouse filled to the brim with fireworks, according to a statement from the Gardena Police Department. 

The recovered fireworks are estimated to have a street value between $7 million and $10 million, investigators say. 

Lt. Christopher Cuff said it took one 40-foot big rig, and five 53-foot trailers to remove a little over 153 pallets loaded with the fireworks from the warehouse. He said although still under investigation, it looks like the fireworks were imported from China. 

"What we're not talking about is the 'safe and sane' fireworks," Cuff said.  "What I mean by that is, those are fireworks that are legal here in California. Everything that we recovered out of that warehouse, was the stuff that blows up."  

Additionally, three people were arrested in connection with the discovery. They were identified as Wilmington residents Alejandro Rodriguez, 44, and Daniel Gudino, 25, and Carson resident Natalie Navarro, 30. 

They were all booked on suspicion of possession of explosives and various weapons violation offenses, police said. 

Police say that the 75 tons more than double the previous largest total retrieved during a bust, which was about 32 tons from a South LA warehouse in 2021.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact investigators at (310) 217-6193.