Authorities in Lane County, Oregon have busted a massive theft ring involving stolen Lego sets, according to reporting from Eugene’s NBC 16.
A three-month investigation by the Springfield Police Department’s (SPD) Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) revealed a local hobby store had allegedly been buying stolen Lego sets and reselling them, as NBC 16 details.
SPD tells us a three-month investigation revealed evidence that the owner of Brick Builders on Willamette, Ammon Henrikson, was knowingly purchasing new, unopened sets of Legos that had been stolen from local retail stores.
When authorities raided Brick Builders, they discovered over $200,000 in stolen merchandise and over 4,000 Lego sets. Authorities say the investigation and raid were a joint effort with local retailers, including Walmart and Target. Henrikson and another suspect were arrested and charged with first-degree theft by receiving and organizing retail theft.
If this all sounds weird to you, you’ll be shocked to learn it’s nothing new. As TMZ pointed out, there’s a growing Lego black market where thieves are going into stores and stealing massive and expensive Lego sets for resale, especially in Southern California.
A huge demand for LEGOs and sky-high prices at retail stores are creating a growing black market in SoCal, where thieves are going to great lengths to jack LEGOs from stores.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … theft rings are marching into retailers like Target, Barnes & Noble and Walmart and stealing any and all things LEGO, and the crimes are getting more sophisticated by the day.
This ain’t a smash-and-grab type job … we’re told some of the crews boosting LEGOs are now using counter-surveillance technology, plus getaway drivers and lookouts.
Once the thieves make off with the LEGOs, our sources say they turn around and sell them to fences — folks who deal in stolen goods — and the LEGOs are then sold on websites like eBay, Facebook and OfferUp.