More good news for those who want illegal fireworks reined in: On Wednesday, the state seized 17 tons of the contraband from a shipping container at Honolulu Harbor, bringing the total to nearly 35 tons, after an earlier seizure. The shipments from the mainland are under investigation.

This is a feather in the cap of the Illegal Fireworks Task Force, which ran the operation under the new Department of Law Enforcement. But the impact will hinge on the probes’ outcome, and how much criminals are deterred from the lucrative trade.