The Illegal Fireworks Task Force, operated under the state Department of Law Enforcement, seized a shipment of about 16 tons of illegal aerial fireworks in Honolulu late last week, the department announced in a news release Wednesday.

Almost all of the seized fireworks consisted of “multi-shot ‘cakes’ or launchers capable of firing multiple fireworks into the air in long consecutive strings of fire,” DLE said in the release. An investigation into the illegal fireworks is ongoing.

“The Illegal Fireworks Task Force has been working closely with the local shipping industry to stop illegal fireworks from making it into Hawaii,” DLE Director Jordan Lowe said in the release. “(The seizure) could not have happened without the collaborative efforts of both law enforcement and our industry partners.”

The seizure at Honolulu Harbor was the task force’s first seizure of ship cargo, Lowe said, and is the largest seizure since the task force’s inception in July. The task force has collected over 35,000 pounds of fireworks so far through last week’s seizure, air cargo shipment seizures and other ongoing operations.

Lowe said that the task force is taking a “multi-prong approach” in its pursuit of illegal fireworks and is looking at shipments made via post or common carriers. The task force also is pursuing people who traffic illegal fireworks, and two people have been arrested for selling illegal fireworks since July, Lowe said.

“We intend to continue to be proactive in looking for shipments and trying to identify shipments that are suspicious. We are going to continue to be proactive in identifying individuals that are importing or distributing illegal fireworks into the community,” Lowe said.

The task force also conducted its first fireworks amnesty day Sunday — where members of the public could drop off illegal fireworks, no questions asked — that netted 515 pounds of fireworks.

The Illegal Fireworks Task Force, which was created by a bill signed by Gov. Josh Green in June, is coordinated by DLE, but also comprises state narcotics agents, deputy sheriffs, county police officers, the Department of the Attorney General, and other federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“This is a joint effort with the Department of Law Enforcement and its federal partners, its industry partners and local law enforcement partners such as the Honolulu Police Department,” Lowe said.

Since 2011, an islandwide partial ban on fireworks, including aerials, as well as sparklers, fountains and other consumer fireworks, has been in effect. To buy and use firecrackers on New Year’s Eve, firecracker permits must be purchased by today.

As New Year’s Eve draws closer, Lowe said that the task force’s priority remains trying to interdict fireworks from entering the community, and that the task force will continue its efforts into next year.

“We hope that through cooperative efforts such as this, the community may soon enjoy the peace and quiet of nighttime without the unsettling noise of illegal fireworks,” Lowe said in the news release.