Six Arrested in Alcohol Decoy Operation

Six adults were arrested last week during a decoy operation targeting those who bought alcohol for minors, police said. 

On Thursday, the Newark Police Department teamed up with the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control to conduct the operation, known as a “Decoy Shoulder Tap.”

During a Decoy Shoulder Tap, minors solicit adults outside of businesses to buy alcohol for them. Anyone who supplies alcohol to the decoy is arrested and charged with a misdemeanor and can face jail time, according to the ABC.

Six adults were arrested during the five-hour operation, according to the Newark Police Department. 

Five were arrested on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Among those five, one was also charged with possession of marijuana and another with possession of methamphetamine for sale. 

The sixth suspect was arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine, violating a criminal protective order and multiple warrants.

Additional similar operations are planned for throughout the year and are being funded by a $27,800 ABC grant to increase alcohol enforcement, police said.

According to the Newark Police Department, similar decoy operations have helped cut down the rate of businesses selling alcohol to minors to less than 10 percent.