Four arrested in alcohol operation

Four people were arrested and five others were cited during an alcohol inspection by Costa Mesa police, authorities said.

On Oct. 27, Costa Mesa police selected 28 locations in Costa Mesa to inspect for various Alcoholic Beverage Control violations.

Operations often involve sending in underage decoys to see if they can buy alcohol without having their IDs checked or having underage decoys ask customers if they can buy them alcohol.

In the five-hour operation, police checked on 12 off-sale businesses, where alcohol is sold to take home. Officers also checked on 16 on-sale alcohol establishments where customers can drink at the location.

Police cited or arrested nine people. Police will continue with the surprise inspections for the next eight months until all 363 alcohol-establishments in Costa Mesa are checked, officials said.

The inspections are designed to reduce sales of alcohol to minors or intoxicated customers, among other reasons, police said.

— Joseph Serna