Blurred photo of wine bottles on shelves Photo: 123RF
Eight Tauranga liquor stores have been caught red-handed selling alcohol to under 18-year-olds.
Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing team leader Sam Kemp said the eight stores sold alcohol without verifying the buyer's age or requesting identification.
The "serious breaches" of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act were discovered during a joint sting by the council's alcohol licensing team and a Tauranga police alcohol harm prevention coordinator.
Thirty-four off-license premises were visited on Sunday under the supervision of police and alcohol licensing inspectors.
Kemp said when questioned by inspectors, the duty managers involved admitted they had not asked for the volunteer's age, date of birth, or if they had any suitable form of identification.
"It's hugely disappointing that these managers simply processed the sale and allowed the purchase to proceed without performing this most basic of checks," he said.
"The community needs to have confidence that those premises who have been granted liquor licenses will not sell alcohol to underage teenagers."
This latest operation follows a similar one in November last year, where three premises were found to be in breach of the law for similar offending.
"The increase in non-compliance has raised concerns about the effectiveness of responsible service training," Kemp said.
"As a result, Tauranga alcohol licensing inspectors will be filing suspension applications for the duty manager certificates and off-licences of the offending premises with the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority."
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