Eighteen convenience stores were visited by deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, June 28, 2021; it was part of the ongoing Operation Pop Top initiative to make sure alcohol is not being sold to anyone under 21-years of age, in accordance with state law.

The deputies were assisted by a 18-year-old PCSO Explorer who visited the various stores in the Fort Meade, Bartow, and the unincorporated Lakeland area. Explorers are high school students who are interested in a career in law enforcement. 

Of the eighteen stores visited, only one was non-compliant with the law. 

42-year-old Wael Mohamed Afifi Mahmoud was arrested for selling an alcoholic beverage to the Explorer. Mahmoud is employed by the RaceTrac store at 1690 N Broadway Ave in Bartow. The charge is a misdemeanor. 

The other seventeen stores that were visited were:
JVJ Food Store Inc., 825 S Charleston Ave, Fort Meade
BP Foodstore, 724 E Broadway, Fort Meade
Sunoco (privately owned), 3 E Broadway, Fort Meade
Circle K, 116 N Charleston Ave, Fort Meade
Macs Discount Food, 822 N Charleston Ave, Fort Meade
Citgo Homeland Food Store, 6005 HWY 17 S, Homeland
Plaza Foods, 1995 Hwy 17 S, Bartow
Sunoco (privately owned), 1410 US HWY 17 S, Bartow
Mon Food BDA JJ, 1405 US Highway 17 S, Bartow
Quickmart, 1140 E Van Fleet D, Bartow
7-Eleven, 1020 N Broadway Ave, Bartow
7-Eleven, 6175 South US 98, Lakeland
RaceTrac, 4285 US Hwy 98, Lakeland
7-Eleven, 2010 Edgewood Dr, Lakeland
Circle K, 1705 Bartow Rd, Lakeland
Grove Park Mobil, 1315 Hwy 98 S, Lakeland