Breaux Bridge Man, 71, Arrested in Major Marijuana Growing Bust

BREAUX BRIDGE, La. (KPEL News) — St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 71-year-old Breaux Bridge man last week after a search warrant at his Leger Road home turned up marijuana plants, concentrated cannabis, and packaging tied to drug distribution.

According to a press release from the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies served the warrant March 31, 2026, at a home in the 1000 block of Leger Road near Gecko Road in Breaux Bridge after receiving a tip about suspected drug activity at the property.

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What Deputies Found Inside the Breaux Bridge Home

During the search, deputies recovered 10 marijuana plants, approximately 293 grams of marijuana, and approximately 307 grams of suspected kief. Kief is a concentrated cannabis extract more potent than standard marijuana flower. Deputies also found a digital scale and a box of clear plastic bags — the kind commonly used to package drugs for sale.

That mix of a live grow, concentrated product, and distribution supplies pushed investigators past a simple possession charge.

Charges Against Oliver Lippy

Deputies arrested Oliver Lippy, 71, of Breaux Bridge at the scene.

Credit: St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office

He was booked into the St. Martin Parish jail on three charges:

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Schedule I Controlled Dangerous Substance (LA R.S. 40:966A(1))
Creation or Operation of a Clandestine Laboratory for the Unlawful Manufacture of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (LA R.S. 40:983)
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (LA R.S. 40:1023C)

The clandestine laboratory charge may raise eyebrows — it typically brings to mind meth labs, not marijuana grows. Under Louisiana law, though, cultivating plants to manufacture a controlled substance for distribution can fall under that statute. The active grow operation is what triggered it here.

Sheriff Urges Public Tips on Drug Activity

Sheriff Becket Breaux is asking anyone with information about drug activity in St. Martin Parish to call the Sheriff’s Office at 337-394-3071.

The arrest comes amid active narcotics enforcement in St. Martin Parish. Earlier this year, a separate investigation started at a Breaux Bridge convenience store and expanded into Lafayette, where authorities seized more than $164,000 in cash.

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