CAIRO - The police pushed on with their crackdown on crime rings in Cairo arresting fugitives, suspects, hawkers and sellers of fireworks ahead of Eid el-Fitr which begins after the end of Ramadan. The latest arrests is part of a major sweep launched following orders by the Capital Security Chief, Major General Mohssen Murad, who wanted the police to continue with their raids against outlaws, drug pushers and the sellers of fireworks, and seize their illegal and harmful goods. The capital area, especially during Ramadan, has a reputation as a fertile fireworks-selling region ruled by outlaws, security sources said. Each year, Egyptians waste LE219 million ($39 million) on ground fireworks, which the Government should ban their import and sales to children. Officials have declared these fireworks to be dangerous because they produce a practical effect by explosion that can be harmful to the users or by standers. "The security of the people during Eid el-Fitr is a responsibility that does not permit laxity or lenience," Maj Gen Murad said, adding that the police have drawn up a security plan to prevent any major incident in Cairo during the holy month. "Hopefully, this year's feast will be trouble-free," he said, vowing that the police will be ready to deal with traffic jams before the iftar time. Meanwhile, police in the Delta Governorate of Menufia have seized more than 76 automatic rifle that were to sold to outlaws, a security source said yesterday. The police found a cache containing 76 rifles, six handguns and more that 3,000 bullets buried in the sand near a farm on the outskirts of Berkat el-Saaba town, the source told the Cairo daily el-Gomhuriya. In a related development, police raided a workshop in the Qalubia that was used to make firearm parts, the paper said. It also said that the police seized rocket casings ready to be sold to criminal elements. Meanwhile, police seized 195 crates of automatic weapons and ammunition and arrested two men suspected of planning to sell them to farmers in the Central Delta region.
