Twelve juveniles and 11 adults under the age of 21 were arrested for underage possession of alcohol last weekend after the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated two local underage parties that took place in separate areas of the county. And on Friday a drug detection operation at two high schools led to the arrests of four students.

According to Sgt. Chris R. Whitley of the Sheriff’s Office, several of those arrested are students at local high schools, mostly in Hanover County.

The first incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the 17300 block of Tyler Station Road in the Beaverdam area. Officers found a group of people illegally consuming and/or possession alcohol. Upon further investigation, the deputies arrested six juveniles and seven adults.

At 4 a.m., officers responded to the 6300 block of Midnight Drive in the Mechanicsville area. As was the case in the earlier arrests, people were illegally consuming and/or possessing alcohol. After that investigation, six juveniles and four adults were arrested.

The Friday incident involved marijuana possession, with two Atlee High School students and two Hanover High School students being charged. The arrests came after the Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with the Hanover County Public Schools and with the assistance of the Henrico Division of Police and the Virginia State Police, conducted a drug detection operation at each school.

The drug detection operations are conducted annually and at random and utilize drug detecting canines.

Col. V. Stuart Cook, sheriff of Hanover County, said his office “remains fully committed to its zero-tolerance policy towards underage possession and consumption of alcohol, as well as narcotics violations. Thse incidents underscore our resolve in ensuring that everyone in the community is protected against the many dangers associated with alcohol and drug use, particularly our youths.”

“Accordingly,” the sheriff added, “we will continue to work with the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) agents to make further progress in ensuring that only individuals of age are legally being sold alcoholic beverages by our retailers. In addition, we will continue to remain focused upon ensuring that our schools are as safe and drug-free as possible.”

“While this remains an issue that we continue to focus upon,” Cook said, “these incidents highlight the importance of parents being actively engaged in the lives of their children and reinforcing the dangers associated with illegally consuming alcohol.”

He concluded by saying that “Such situations are never timely and I hope it will bring a much greater awareness to this issue as we quickly approach the prom and graduation season where these instances tend to be more prevalent.”