Education 'Increased use of Cobra fireworks in attacks' Written on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Investigation of the use of violence in criminal circles has shown a progressive increase in the use of explosives in attacks. In around eighty per cent of the cases the perpetrators used powerful fireworks that are banned for consumer use, mostly Cobra firecrackers. This type of firework has the explosive power of a military-grade explosive such as TNT and has devastating effects. At the Netherlands Police Academy, forensic investigation specialists learn how to investigate crime scenes where ‘traditional’ or improvised explosive devices were used. ‘The problem is that Cobras are classed as professional fireworks and are therefore not illegal.’ Jan Nieuwelink is a lecturer of Forensic Investigation at the Police Academy. ‘You can easily buy these fireworks, if you have a licence. However, European research shows that there is almost zero professional use of Cobras. The production of these fireworks is therefore exclusively intended for the illegal market.’ ‘This type of firework is very easy for everyone to get hold of. There are webshops for fireworks where you can easily order Cobras. They usually cost only five euros a piece. Many young people therefore see it as an easy racket. As a result, there have been increasing reports in the media of pupils who have dozens of Cobras in their lockers.’ ‘Apart from the trade in Cobras for use as fireworks, about a thousand attacks are carried out with them every year,’ explains Jan. ‘That is last year’s figure, which we will probably exceed this year.’ Hiding Cobras in your bedroom ‘Particularly the Cobra 6 is used a lot.’ Jan emphasises that the term Cobra is a product name. ‘There are many different types of Cobra, of which the Cobra 6 is currently the most common. It contains 25 grams of flash powder. The Cobra 8 is also popular and contains a hundred grams of flash powder, four times as much. If a Cobra 6 explodes in your hand, you will lose all your fingers and will never be able to use your hand normally again.’ As a lecturer, Jan often receives phone calls from colleagues who are involved in explosions. ‘I was called by a colleague the other day. Four Cobras 6 had exploded in a teenager’s bedroom. They thought that the Cobras had exploded of their own accord. But that’s impossible. There must have been something nearby that caused the flash powder to go off, static electricity for example.’ ‘What many people do not know about flash powder is that it has a mass explosion hazard. This means that its explosive reaction is so strong that all other firework items containing flash powder will also explode. So if you have six Cobras lying next to each other and light only one, you will set off the rest. That’s an effect gunpowder doesn’t have.’ Fireworks app After an explosion, a forensic investigator examines the crime scene. The investigator works very meticulously to find out what happened and what is left of the explosive device. All of this information is recorded and used in the official report. This is important for the prosecution of the crime. Earlier this year, the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) developed the app Vuurwerkverkenner (Fireworks Explorer), which is intended to aid the investigation of incidents with fireworks. The fireworks involved in explosions will often have disintegrated into countless fragments and shreds. It is important for the investigation to know what fireworks were used and what to look for. The app helps police officers to immediately identify the professional fireworks involved in the explosion using photographs of shreds. The app also provides additional relevant information. Special training on fireworks Jan trains colleagues who investigate crime scenes (forensic investigators). But the first officers to arrive at the scene of an explosion must of course also have a good knowledge of fireworks and their effects. For this reason, officers receive the ‘Fireworks’ training course. Not only the legal aspects are dealt with. The course also aims to teach students to identify the types of people who use fireworks as a means of vandalism, such as rioters and hooligans. They also learn what to do if they find heavy fireworks. ‘First of all: do not touch,’ explains a lecturer of this course. ‘Police officers must first look after their own safety. So if the fireworks can stay where they are, just leave them there. To pick up the fireworks we call on the services of a special ADR transporter, which collects the fireworks in antistatic bags and cardboard boxes with polystyrene.’ ‘ADR stands for Accord relatif au transport international de marchandises Dangereuses par Route, which is French for Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road. Unfortunately, the ADR logo is sometimes abused. Large quantities of the fireworks in question are transported on our roads in packaging with incorrect labels and false ADR logos. Transport companies believe they are carrying engine components while they’re in fact transporting highly explosive material.’ Heavy fireworks are a problem all year round ‘Fireworks are really a problem all year round, not just in December,’ he explains. ‘Riots with fireworks, hooligans with fireworks, attacks with fireworks. It’s a good thing that we’re asking for extra attention for the lighting of fireworks in December, but criminals of course use it all year round. And unfortunately, there are more and more citizens who are extremely short-fused and might use a Cobra to scare their ex-girlfriend for example.’ ‘In the ‘Fireworks’ training course, we teach our colleagues about the risks of fireworks. Especially when the purpose changes from entertainment to explosive device. We should actually pay attention to fireworks all year around, also to keep the information about fireworks up to date.’ After a mannequin with a backpack full of Cobras is blown up, little is left. Simulations with mannequins in education In the training course ‘Investigating explosions and explosives’, the Police Academy teaches forensic investigators everything about explosions caused by traditional or improvised explosive devices, including heavy fireworks such as Cobra 6. ‘During the course, we do simulations in the open field. For example, the Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (DEODS) constructs a bomb from a number of Cobras for us, which is subsequently detonated under controlled circumstances.’ ‘One of the examples we use is a mannequin carrying a rucksack containing a number of Cobras. Very, very little remains of this mannequin after the explosion. It is necessary for students to see these different types of explosions to form an image of the power of firework explosions and the resulting damage.’ All-destroying ‘Several things occur during an explosion,’ explains Jan. ‘You’re not only dealing with flying debris but also with the pressure wave and shock wave. The pressure wave can destroy your pulmonary alveoli, which can be fatal. The shock wave can cause flying debris to land 100 metres or more away. So sticking a Cobra on a living room window can have serious consequences for neighbours some distance away.’ ‘And for the people living in the house. If you don’t get hit by flying shards of glass, there may be a jet of shattered glass coming at you from the spot where the Cobra was attached.’ ‘Forensic investigators are mainly called when an explosion has caused casualties,’ explains Jan. ‘As a result, forensic investigation work is in fact never pleasant. However, it is our job to discover the truth. And privately, I’ve stopped lighting fireworks a long time ago. Do you know how dangerous it is? The more I read about it, the more I realise that it’s really dangerous.’