Clever Georgia deputies use fake DUI stop to lure real DUI drivers into trap

TWIGGS COUNTY, Ga. — Deputies in south Georgia came up with a devious way of catching suspected DUI drivers, according to WGXA.

Officers gathered on Highway 358 in Twiggs County on Saturday to conduct “Operation Wrong Exit.”

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The premise was simple: Drivers had the option to go through a fake DUI checkpoint or take the exit. The only catch? People who got off at the exit were met with the real DUI checkpoint.

“Those are the ones we’re looking for ... if they choose to get off this exit, up here is actually where the checkpoint is,” Sheriff Darren Mitchum told WGXA.

According to WXGA, “Those who decide to pull a fast one and exit off to avoid the checkpoint, get pulled over, prompting a search and an actual check.”

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Drivers who chose to risk the DUI checkpoint were in the clear.

“There’s only four things that would get you arrested: if you’re driving impaired, if you have a warrant, if you have a suspended license, [or] if you are carrying drugs,” Mitchum said.

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Mitchum said that the department has made nearly 200 arrests since they started the operation three years ago. He said the operation has been effective in risk prevention, prosecuting violators, and increasing voluntary compliance.

This year’s operation has successfully prosecuted 30 people so far.

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