A prominent supermarket, bottle shops and grocery stores were among eight Tauranga off-license premises found to be selling alcohol to underage teenagers aged between 15 and 17 years.

The most 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.

Forty-six off-license premises were visited on Saturday 9 August under the supervision of police and Alcohol Licensing Inspectors.

Tauranga City Council Alcohol Licensing Team Leader Sam Kemp says alarmingly, eight of these establishments sold alcohol without verifying the purchaser’s age or requesting any form of identification.

“When questioned by Alcohol Licensing Inspectors, the duty managers admitted they had not verified the minor’s age or in some cases not requested appropriate identification and instead, they completed the sale and allowed the purchase to proceed,” Sam says.

This latest operation follows a similar one conducted in March of this year, during which eight licensed premises also failed to comply.

“The continued non-compliance highlights serious shortcomings in the in-store training and policies of some premises. Selling alcohol to minors is a serious offence, and we will continue to take firm action to ensure public safety and uphold the law,” Sam says.

As a result, Tauranga Alcohol Licensing Inspectors and Police will be submitting suspension applications to the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority. These applications will target both the duty managers who were on duty at the time of the breaches and the off-licences of the non-compliant premises

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