Video: Washington Coast Group Busted for Illegal Crab - Hidden In Their Clothing

Published 06/30/26 at 6:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Tokeland, Washington) – Officers patrolling the Washington coast for wildlife violations got an eyeful a couple of weeks ago – and a shirt-full...and a hat-full, etc (All images Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife Police).

A routine patrol on the Tokeland tidelands turned into an unusual enforcement stop after a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) police officer discovered more than 20 illegally concealed Dungeness crab hidden in custom-sewn clothing pouches.

According to WDFW, Officer Garrison had been monitoring shellfish harvesters when he saw a man place a live crab into the hood of a woman’s jacket, then adjust her oversized sunhat to hide it. The pair later met up with another couple and headed toward the parking area.

When Garrison asked the group whether they had any crab, all four said they did not. The officer, however, could clearly see crab legs sticking out from one woman’s hood and noticed that both women’s clothing sagged in an odd manner – not to mention their garb showed bulges as they walked.

Video here (may take time to load / appear)

The group initially turned over five crabs for inspection. Garrison asked six separate times whether they had any additional crab, receiving a “no” each time. After lifting the woman’s sunhat and revealing another crab, he pointed out the suspicious bulges in their clothing. The women then began removing crab from hidden compartments sewn into their jackets.

“They continued to only hand over one or two crab at a time until more were pointed out by Garrison,” said WDFW in a release. “Even when Officer Garrison thought they had removed all the crab, he patted them down and found more. “

The video shows some memorable moments that will be viral-bound, with some surreal overtones, like pointing out there are “crab in your pants.” It verges on being Monty Python-esque.

At one point, Garrison actually had to ask if one of the women had crab stuffed in her bra. Amazingly, that also turned out to be true. She pulls packets of crab from her undergarments.

In total, the two women had concealed 21 Dungeness crab, including 19 undersized crab and one female crab. Officers seized three crab-hiding bandoliers and a modified puffer jacket as evidence.

All four individuals were cited for failing to submit catch for inspection and for possessing undersized crab.

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