Eight Tauranga liquor stores have been found selling alcohol to under 18-year-olds.

A recent controlled purchase operation conducted by the Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team and a Tauranga Police Alcohol Harm Prevention Co-ordinator has revealed serious breaches of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.

Thirty-four off-license premises were visited on Sunday 9 March under the supervision of police and Alcohol Licensing Inspectors.

Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team Leader Sam Kemp says eight of these stores sold alcohol without verifying the buyer’s age or requesting identification.

Sam says 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,” Sam says.

“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,” Sam says.

“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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