Operation Blackjack: Cary police crack down on store clerks selling alcohol to minors

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- An undercover operation in Cary is reminding businesses not to sell alcohol to minors this holiday season.

Operation Blackjack paired 11 officers with four teen volunteers.

Out of the 33 stores the group visited, six clerks sold alcohol to minors, helping the operation.

Police say this is less about entrapment and more about education.

"We hope we'd be at the point now where people should know you can't sell to underage people but apparently it's not the case," said Lieutenant Katherine Christian, who helped lead the operation.

In the locations ABC11 cameras went to with police, both clerks sold to minors.

One was on East Chatham Street; the other on Hampton Woods Lane. After the clerks made the sell to the minors, they walked out and undercover officers walked in to tell them what they did wrong and when they needed to see a judge.

"This is very costly in terms of the time away from work for the clerk, the amount of money it's going to take for them to defend it or hire a lawyer," Lieutenant Christian said. "We hope our teenagers are getting some education about the consequences not only about the clerks but for themselves. It delays their college application, it could delay them getting work, now this is on their record-it is a costly thing in many different ways for the teen."

The clerks face a misdemeanor charge and up to $1,000 fine.