Shoplifters aren’t expected to easily confess, but a Walmart patron did just that when she confidently told deputies the alleged crime was part of an elaborate challenge, North Florida investigators say.

The rules, she said, are to take as much as possible without getting caught.

“It’s really fun,” the woman explained with a straight face.

The bewildering explanation appeared to be crafted on the fly, as the woman was being confronted Monday, March 25, outside a Palm Coast Walmart, about a 60-mile drive south from Jacksonville.

“It’s a game I was playing. … It’s called ‘21,’” the suspect told Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

“It’s basically, like, you go and steal all the (items) that you can steal and you get out without getting caught. Well, I did it one other time and this time, but I got caught this time. … Now, I got to give all the merchandise back to Walmart.”

Forfeiting the merchandise is the price of losing, she said, adding: “I took a lot.”

A search of the 30-year-old woman’s vehicle revealed $1,030 in Walmart goods, all believed to be unpaid for, officials said.

Deputies also found baggies containing marijuana and a crystal-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, officials said.

A locked safe was found in the car’s trunk, containing “various 1-ounce silver bars and rounds, copper bars, and a 1-gram platinum bar,” the sheriff’s office said.

The woman, who lives in Sanford, was arrested and, according to officials, charged with:

• Shoplifting-grand theft ($750-$5,000)

• Possession of marijuana

• Possession of hashish

• Possession of drug paraphernalia

• Possession of Alprazolam

• Trafficking of methamphetamine (28g-200g)

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