The state-led Illegal Fireworks Task Force seized about 24 tons of display fireworks from a shipping container during a routine inspection Thursday.

The seized fireworks, known as 1.3G fireworks, are not meant for public use and require significant licensing and specialized professional training for their importation, storage and use, authorities said.

“The Illegal Fireworks Task Force is comprehensively examining the entire fireworks environment in Hawaii, including both legitimate industry and the black market,” Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement Deputy Director Jared Redulla said in a news release. “Fireworks are highly regulated items in Hawaii. Consequently, everyone who decides to get involved with fireworks must strictly comply with all the federal, state and county laws that regulate them.”

The latest seizure comes after several large seizures of illegal fireworks around last New Year’s Eve. Since September, including the most recent seizure, the task force has seized about 97.8 tons of illegal fireworks.

The task force was established in June, and is coordinated by the Department of Law Enforcement. It comprises DLE investigators, deputy sheriffs, county police officers, the Department of the Attorney General and other federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Investigation Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigation Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The investigation into this seizure of illegal fireworks, as well as previous seizures, is ongoing, authorities said.