Four Northland liquor outlets sell alcohol to minors in covert sting

Four liquor outlets in Northland have been caught selling booze to minors in a sting by police and Northland District Health Board. Photo / 123rf.com

Four liquor outlets in Northland have been caught selling booze to minors in a sting by police and Northland District Health Board.

The Controlled Purchase Operations saw underage volunteers, aged 17, attempt to purchase alcohol from 18 licensed premises in the Bay of Islands and 16 outlets in Whangarei.

Four liquor outlets, two in the Bay of Islands and two in Whangarei, sold alcohol to minors.

Senior Sergeant John Fagan, area prevention manager for Whangarei/Kaipara, said the result was disappointing.

"All premises selling or supplying alcohol are aware that we run these types of operations regularly so should not be surprised that they are being tested. We expect that all premises should guard against sales to young persons and have the right procedures in place," he said.

Senior Constable Graeme Wright, Kerikeri police alcohol harm reduction officer said the premises involved should have better systems in place to ensure alcohol was not sold to minors.

"As a community, we need to have confidence that license holders will not sell alcohol to our youth and allow them to drink unsupervised and potentially harmfully.

"The consequences when the licensees are reported to the authorities are major. This can result in a suspension of their license to sell alcohol for a number of days."

Mr Wright said if identification is unable to be produced by anyone attempting to purchase alcohol who looks under 25, the sellers should not sell the alcohol to them.

"It is important to stress that a full and proper identification check must be carried out including calculating the age. This is best practice and the only sure way to prevent sales to underage," he said.

Controlled Purchase Operations are part of an ongoing programme to assess compliance with the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 in an effort to address access to alcohol by minors.