Stolen lobster discovered in back of broken-down van, police say

Three men from the Charlottetown area are facing charges in connection with the theft of more than $25,000 worth of live P.E.I. lobster, RCMP say.

Sgt. Chris Gunn of the Kings District RCMP said the lobster wasdiscovered when anRCMP officer stopped to help a cube van that had broken down on the side of the road in Shediac, N.B.

Gunn said police had received a call the morning of June 27 of a break, enter and theft fromLOL Seafood's storage facility in Murray Harbour, P.E.I.

He said 48 crates containing sorted lobster werestolen sometime overnight. The same day, just after 8 a.m, the Shediac RCMP officer pulled over to help the broken-down cube van. The van was accompanied by another vehicle.

The officer discovered the cube van was not legal for the road, and containeda large quantity of lobster that wasn't being stored properly.

DFO stored lobsters

Police seizedtwo vehiclesas part of the investigation, Gunn said, and contacted localofficers from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceansto help.

"The RCMP would like to thank the DFO for storing the lobsters," Gunn said. "When they were seized, the DFO officers over in New Brunswick helped store the lobsters and tried to keep them alive until the owners picked them up."

Three Charlottetown-area men face charges of possession of stolen property. Two were released until their court date and one was held on unrelated matters in Saint John, N.B.

Gunn said further charges are pending for break, enter and theft.

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