Police find eight Tauranga stores selling alcohol to underage buyers

Thirty-four off-license premises were visited on Sunday, March 9, in Tauranga. Photo / Richard Robinson

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

Thirty-four off-license premises were visited on March 9 under the supervision of police and alcohol licensing inspectors, Tauranga City Council said today.

Council alcohol licensing team leader Sam Kemp said eight of these stores sold alcohol without verifying the buyer’s age or requesting identification.

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 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.

“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 followed a similar one in November, in which 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.”