Nine Santa Fe-area businesses that sell beer and liquor were cited over the weekend for violation of laws involving the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors.

The police actions, in a six-county, state police operation dubbed Holiday Cheer, also resulted in three Santa Fe arrests for purchasing liquor for a minor.

Those businesses cited included the Inn and Spa at Loretto, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail; Puerto Penasco, 4681 Airport Road; Horseman's Haven Cafe, 4354 Cerrillos Road; the Flying Tortilla, 4250 Cerrillos Road; El Gancho, 104 Old Las Vegas Highway, Sleeping Dog Tavern, 114 W. San Francisco St; Apache Host, no address listed; and a Walgreens and Pizza Hut, locations not available.

State police Lt. Eric Garcia said each business received two citations against the establishment's liquor license and one felony referral for prosecution.

He said state police, in cooperation with the Santa Fe Police Department and sheriff's office, checked a total of 99 businesses in Santa Fe County. Four liquor business were cited in Las Vegas, N.M.

In all, Garcia said 190 locations were checked in the counties of Santa Fe, San Miguel, Rio Arriba, Cibola, McKinley and Bernalillo.

Garcia said it was the largest such operation in several years, and warned businesses of more to come. "The bottom line is just don't do it," Garcia said.