Brazen Louisiana Thieves Take Tide Pod Crime to the Next Level

New Iberia, LA (KPEL News) - Theft of laundry pods, especially Tide, have plagued nearly every state in the nation. Numerous stories populate the internet from Connecticut to New York to Colorado about what's being referred to as the laundry detergent crime wave. Louisiana has not been immune to the crime, and thieves in the Bayou State got even more brazen in their attempt to cash in.

Ten years ago, thieves were trading the pods for drugs on the street. Laundry pods are marginally more expensive than their liquid counterparts, thus more valuable and more easily exchanged in single lots.

It's not even worth mentioning the insanity that was eating Tide Pods or any other laundry pod. That time period and "fad" boggles the mind.

Fast forward to 2024, and you'll find "deals" available all over Facebook Marketplace. The sellers are located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and states across the country. A buyer, unaware that they may be purchasing stolen goods, believes they are getting a great deal. Who wouldn't want to pay $10 for a product that would cost them $20 in the store?

To be clear, it's likely that not all of the Tide or laundry pod listings on Facebook Marketplace are stolen. You must admit that the number of listings and the details are sketchy. Why are so many people offering them at such low prices?

Probably because the money they make is pure profit. Some of the merchandise was obtained via the five finger discount.

Videos of the theft are popping up across social media platforms, like the one below caught on camera in South Carolina.

The guys in this next video loaded up a shopping cart full of the detergent and made a clean getaway in Colorado, but not without being caught on camera. Were they stealing it? Can't be sure, but why would anyone scurry away so fast if they weren't up to no good?

During a visit with Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero, he explained that his department recently arrested two women who took cashing in on Tide Pods to a whole new level. The pair was allegedly stealing the detergent from stores, mostly Dollar General locations, from Baton Rouge to Lake Charles and selling the wares at the Lafayette Jockey Lot.

The only upside is that at least they weren't selling them as snack food.

When you go into a store now and see the laundry pods hidden behind plexiglass, you'll understand why. Some stores, like CVS, went so far as to remove them from the shelves. I knew that stuff was expensive, but I had no idea how valuable it really is to someone who doesn't believe the law applies to them.