More meat crime is making news, this time in Austin, Texas after 20 briskets were stolen from la Barbecue in Austin, Texas.

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Brisket ain't cheap and all totaled up, this heist cost the owners almost $3,000.

Brisket Heist

FOX News reports that the brisket bandit hit in the early morning hours of Thursday, August 4, at around 4am. That's when cameras caught a suspect jumping the fence at la Barbecue at 2401 E Cesar Chavez St. in Austin, Texas.

Alison Clem, la Barbecue general manager, told FOX 7 that the thief jumped the fence and ran towards the smokers, Clem believes the theft was planned.

"We're kind of speculating that he's been watching. You know, somebody that used to cook for us possibly. We haven't had turnover in our house since we've been here, so it wouldn't be current. So, that's also kind of strange that he knew."

The theft was caught on cameral and took about 15 minutes.

Inside Job?

Clem speculates that the heist could have been an inside job, possibly a former employee because the thief jumped the fenced and headed straight for the smoker, like he knew what he was looking for.

"We're kind of speculating that he's been watching. You know, somebody that used to cook for us possibly. We haven't had turnover in our house since we've been here, so it wouldn't be current. So that's also kind of strange that he knew."

Clem suggests that the motive could be in part to the rising cost of meat.

Not the First Break In

This is not the first time that la Barbecue has been broken into. Clem says it's the seventh or eighth time but the first time somebody has stolen meat.

Temple has seen it's own meat bandits at work. Last Easter the H-E-B in Temple was hit and two ladies were caught on camera tossing $2,000 worth of meat into their car. Bothe were later caught.

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