AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISHI@STARBULLETIN.COM U.S. Customs Supervisory Special Agent Michael Cox described the confiscated fireworks and the June indictment of a wholesale food company official yesterday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Federal Building. U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo stood by.

Food company
exec charged with
illegal fireworks cache

Sam Hugh, 35, is arrested after
466 crates of aerial fireworks
are found in a Kalihi loft

Fireworks safety tips

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By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

A wholesale food company official has been charged with illegally importing hundreds of crates of aerial fireworks that were stored on the third-floor loft of a hot, non-air-conditioned warehouse in Kalihi, officials said.

A June 20 indictment, unsealed yesterday, charges Sam Hugh, 35, vice president of Ham Produce and Seafood Inc., with importing and possessing 466 crates of aerial display fireworks without proper licenses and making false declarations on their shipping documents.

The day after the grand jury returned the indictment, agents from U.S. Customs and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arrested Hugh and seized company business and accounting records. He was later released after posting $50,000 bail.

Two of the charges carry a maximum 10-year prison term, while the third carries a maximum two-year term.

The fireworks, ranging in size from 2 inches to 12 inches in diameter, were seized on June 27, 2001, and have an estimated value of $250,000, officials said.

Federal agents are poring over the seized documents to determine whether any of the fireworks had already been sold.

"These are not the fireworks that should be used by people having barbecues and drinking beer in their back yards," said Michael Cox, ATF Supervisory Special Agent.

"Had these fireworks ignited for some reason, we'd probably still be fighting the fire until now," Cox said.

The investigation started with a complaint to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, Cox said. The commission then advised the ATF of the possible improper storage of fireworks.

Customs and ATF authorities believe the fireworks were imported from China through Hong Kong in 1999 and 2000. They are being stored in a bunker and are slated for destruction.