India, Oct. 15 -- Ahead of Diwali, firecrackers worth more than Rs.8 lakh were seized in Noida and Greater Noida on Tuesday, police said, adding that five people were arrested on charges under the Explosives Act as the sale and storage of firecrackers are banned in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In the first incident, Kasna police in Greater Noida arrested a 50-year-old man, Pramod Kumar, a resident of Dadha village in Greater Noida, with firecrackers worth Rs.4 lakh.

"On Tuesday, we received a tip-off that Kumar was moving firecrackers which are banned in NCR. We were told that he was involved in illegal firecrackers' sale," said a police officer part of the investigation, requesting anonymity, adding that 19 different types of fir...