Shops sold booze to minors: police

Two Wellington dairies and a bottle store face losing their liquor licences for selling alcohol to minors.

The three Wellington businesses will appear before the Liquor Licensing Authority after selling alcohol to minors in a controlled purchase operation, police said today.

Sergeant Jason Thurston, Wellington police liquor licensing officer, said the two small grocery stores and one bottle store were caught out in a police sting operation last week.

"All could have their liquor licences and or managers certificates temporarily suspended because of the sales."

The joint operation between Wellington Police, District Licensing Agency (Wellington City Council) and regional Public Health was the second "sting" operation of this type in the past three months.

One 16-year-old volunteer visited six premises. These included bottle stores and grocery stores in the Wellington District Licensing Agency area from the southern and eastern coast through to Tawa.

The move was to test the systems that stores had in place to ensure alcohol was not sold to minors, Mr Thurston said.

"As our volunteer did not have any identification with them, these sales should not have taken place."

Mr Thurston said it was a simple rule when it came to young people - "no ID, no service".

- NZPA