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Smokey the Bear helped law enforcement arrest a man for stealing his signs from across Florida and selling them on Facebook Marketplace.
The suspect was posting the signs on Facebook Marketplace for $1,900 apiece, according to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
“What happens when dumb criminals poke the bear?” Simpson wrote Wednesday on social media.
“Our Ag Law Team has a suspect in custody who traveled from Pensacola to Orlando stealing Smoky Bear signs from our state forests and selling them on Facebook Marketplace for $1,900 each,” he continued. “Big thank you to Smokey the Bear for personally assisting in the arrest.”
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The suspect, whose identity was not released, was transported to jail following his arrest.
Simpson said the suspect could face jail time, although criminal charges are still pending, according to Fox 13.
“Smokey is always around our forest and just got lucky today that he saw the bad guy and got him handcuffed,” Simpson told the outlet. “What an idiot, what an idiot.”
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“[Smokey] goes to schools, he’s known by our children, he’s known by our families, he is known throughout the United States,” Simpson added. “Who goes and steals an image of Smokey the Bear and then tries to profit off of that?”
The state has boosted efforts to prevent forest fires, which destroyed 24,000 acres last year.
The Agriculture Department, which has a law enforcement division, did 277,000 acres of controlled burns last year, spent $93 million on upgraded equipment and dispatched Smokey to remind residents how they can prevent forest fires, according to Fox 13.
“If you’re going to go in and commit crimes in our forests, you probably need to find a different place,” Simpson told the outlet. “Not only will you find smoke in some of those forests, but you’ll find our car officers.”
“We’re the most pro-law enforcement state in the union,” he said. “Smokey Bear is on the job also.”
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