Louisiana Officials Bust a Crawfish Thief Stealing in a Field

Louisiana farmers work very hard during crawfish season to gather their crop to bring to market, so when a thief comes along to steal sacks of crawfish, it takes money straight out of the hands of that farmer.

Law enforcement officials say that since the start of crawfish season, there have been various reports of crawfish thefts at ponds all across south Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Louisiana crawfish industry has a $300 million impact on our state's economy. According to We Love Crawfish, the sector employs around 7,000 people annually.

Officials with the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office say they have been dealing with someone stealing crawfish in the area, a problem law enforcement has to deal with each year.

According to Acadia Sheriff K.P. Gibson, there have been multiple reports of thefts since the start of the season, and each time, they are looking to determine who is stealing from farmers.

Gibson says there have been two separate instances in the town of Ebenezer and in an area north of Crowley in the last week. Farmers have reported that crawfish have been stolen from the fields, and Acadia Parish deputies have been working on each case.

With one farmer, he says the sacks of crawfish were stacked and ready for pickup from farmhands while the farmer continued to work in the pond. At some point, someone stole the sacks that were waiting for pickup.

Gibson says deputies determined that Scott Stein of Lawtell was a theft suspect. He says that with the help of St. Landry Parish Sheriff's deputies, they found Stein, who was also allegedly responsible for stealing sacks of crawfish in that parish.

The Acadia Parish Sheriff says Stein was booked into the Acadia Parish Jail on two counts of theft.

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