Don’t sell cigarettes to minors — just don’t. If your customer looks younger than 45, you’d better ask for identification.
That’s what five stores in Lynnwood learned the hard way after a police sting that involved three undercover agents between 15 and 17 years old.
The sting targeted 51 stores in Lynnwood, according to a release from the Lynnwood Police Department. The five that sold tobacco to the underage agents (who were instructed to show their actual ID cards) translates to a failure rate above 10 percent.
“Three of the five stores also asked for and looked at their real ID cards showing the agents to be (underage) and still sold to the agents,” according to a police statement. “Two of those three establishments were repeat offenders from a previous liquor sting… in March 2009.”
The infraction can cost a business up to $1,000, according to the police statement.
Know a small business you think we should write about? Contact Herald writer Amy Rolph at arolph@heraldnet.com.
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