Surveillance footage from a Smith's store in North Las Vegas shows two alleged shoplifters loading lobster tails and expensive items into a cart before leaving the store.
Posted on X from the account @ImMeme0, the security footage pulled varied reactions online.
"Smith's grocery store is across the street from the NLV mayor's office," one commenter wrote on X.
Security at a Las Vegas store caught brazen shoplifters using a shopping wagon to steal food and drinks but they didn’t go for the cheap stuff. They went straight for lobster tails and expensive sweets. pic.twitter.com/9PRmniY8On
— I Meme Therefore I Am ?? (@ImMeme0) May 24, 2026
The suspects bypassed everyday grocery items and went directly for lobster tails and expensive confections, according to the footage. Footage captured a deliberate pace, the cart's contents in full view of cameras the entire time.
One X user wrote, "Man, per store policy they're gonna be banned from all Walmarts now! Watch out Target!" Another commenter said, "Most likely to sell for $5 dollars a piece to purchase their MENSA memberships 🤡."
Resale, Captain Noel Roberts of Las Vegas Metro Police explained, is what fuels most theft of this kind: "It's not just that they're going in and shoplifting for themselves. They're reselling it, and wherever you have that profit to be gained, you're going to see crimes like this."
Under Nevada law, theft of goods valued under $1,200 is a misdemeanor, exceeding that threshold elevates the charge to a felony carrying one to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. Lobster tails, priced by the pound, can add up to significant value quickly, potentially crossing the felony threshold in a single cart.
The National Retail Federation ranked Las Vegas sixth among U.S. cities most affected by retail crime in 2025. In 2021, organized retail theft cost Nevada over $466 million in stolen goods, per federal lawmakers.
One commenter noted: "There is no need to shoplift in town bc the city of Las Vegas has so many non-profit food shelters." Another wrote, "You wid her, not allowed to come in here no mo!"
The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act recently cleared the U.S. House with bipartisan support. The bill targets organized theft rings through a federal coordination center under Homeland Security Investigations.
In a separate incident on May 17, a suspect attempted to steal a laptop from a Costco on St. Rose Parkway in Henderson. The suspect sprayed mace at a store employee while fleeing, according to Henderson police. No arrest had been confirmed as of publication.
Retired Clark County prosecutor Frank Coumou explained the legal distinction, writing, "Once you start using violence or force in order to retain the item, then it becomes a robbery." Mace specifically, he warned, "carries anywhere between two and 15 years."
No arrests have been publicly confirmed in the Smith's lobster theft.
