New Haven Independent

That was the result of a two-day police crackdown on sales of cigarettes to minors.

Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer Joe Avery:

On Dec. 28 and 29, police targeted 31 stores in New Haven. They sent in a teenager to try to buy cigarettes. The youth was successful at six of the locations: Rong Fa Chinese Restaurant on Howard Avenue, Garcia Grocery on Rosette Street, Golden China Chinese on Kimberly Avenue, Victor’s Market on Howard Avenue, Pop’s Grocery Store on Grand Avenue, and a Shell gas station on Whalley Avenue.

Clerks at these stores were given $200 tickets for violating CT general Statute 53-344(b), which prohibits the sale of tobacco products to minors.

At Pop’s grocery, a clerk named Juan said on Monday that the sale had been an accident. The underage agent had come in at a busy time and the clerk on duty had simply forgotten to check. Juan said that staff will be retrained on the need for checking for IDs.

The cigarette operation was organized by the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and members of the police departments Youth-Oriented Policing Unit. It followed a recent operation that cited seven stores for selling liquor to minors.