Aldi Edgecliff’s liquor licence suspended after teenager walked out with two six packs

ALDI shoppers in this Sydney suburb will have to go elsewhere for their booze after the store was caught selling beer to underage teens.

The discounter store Aldi South in Duesseldorf, western Germany, is pictured on April 5, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ

ALDI in Edgecliff has had its liquor licence suspended for three days after police found teenagers had purchased beers from the store.

It will not be allowed to sell any alcohol between today and Friday.

The suspension flows from an incident last September, when one teenager managed to purchase two six packs after telling a cashier he could not show his identification as he had left his wallet at home.

He showed the cashier a picture of a fake identification on his mobile phone and was allowed to purchase the beer, in September last year.

Police attended the Edgecliff Centre about 11.30am on September 18 and saw a group of young men exchanging money while holding Aldi bags.

The shopping bags were inspected and four six packs of beer found.

Aldi is well known for selling cheap imported beers.

The boy is believed to have told officers that two six packs were taken from one of his friend’s homes and the other two purchased at Aldi.

Police spoke to the cashier, who said he was unaware that scanned IDs were not acceptable.

The Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing said that Aldi has advised its staff to check IDs of anyone who appears to be under-25 and has improved its training procedures.

The cashier who sold the alcohol had since undertaken refresher RSA training.

A spokeswoman for the supermarket said that Aldi takes the responsible service of alcohol very seriously.

“We regret that in this instance, an error has been made by one of our staff members,” she said.

“All ALDI store employees are required to undertake Responsible Service of Alcohol courses ensuring they understand and are equipped to meet their legal responsibilities surrounding the sale of alcohol.”

She said the frequency of training had been increased across Australia as a result of the incident.

Originally published as Aldi Edgecliff’s liquor licence suspended after teenager walked out with two six packs