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Australian authorities have charged a 41-year-old man with theft after discovering an enormous collection of toys and Lego valued at slightly more than ￡120,000 in Adelaide.
Police allege the items had been stolen from multiple department stores.
During a raid at a residence in Royal Park on Saturday, officers recovered around 2,500 items, including 1,700 unopened Lego sets. The discovery marked one of the largest recoveries in the state’s ongoing campaign – called Operation Measure – against retail theft.
The scale of the stash was so extensive that additional police personnel were needed to remove it, requiring three truckloads to transport the items.
“The size of the haul is significant and indicates the depth of the alleged offending,” John De Candia from South Australia Police said.
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“Operation Measure will continue to target recidivist offenders, we believe are responsible for the majority of the offending of this nature.
“This type of theft is not victimless.
“Those who purchase cheap goods from online sites are unwittingly facilitating this crime and we would urge them to consider this,” Mr Candia said.
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A 41-year-old man was charged with theft after police discovered a collection of toys and Lego valued at slightly more than ￡120,000 in Adelaide(South Australia Police)
Alongside the Lego sets, police recovered soft toys, water guns, and toy trucks from popular brands including Pokémon, Barbie, Hello Kitty, and Thomas the Tank Engine.
“Operation Measure officers believe the goods were stolen from department stores across the metropolitan area and were likely being sold on online sites. The haul was so large… three truckloads of goods from the premises” were removed, the police said in a statement.
Police said Operation Measure, launched in partnership with retailers to track theft patterns and offenders, has so far resulted in nearly 2,500 arrests or reports.
Police reported that shoplifting across the state has fallen for eight straight months, with June alone seeing an additional 6 per cent decline.
“The June rolling crime statistics reveal shop theft in SA (South Australia) continued to decline with a six per cent decline reported – 18,343 to 17,225 offences – which is attributed to ongoing proactive operations,” the police said.
Meanwhile, the suspect is scheduled to appear at Port Adelaide Magistrates Court on 30 September.
In a similar toy heist, a Los Angeles toy store was hit by burglars last month, who stole thousands of dollars’ worth of Labubu dolls, a viral collectible that has become a cultural craze and status symbol.
“There was a lot taken, maybe like around $30,000 or more of inventory,” Joanna Avendano, co-owner of One Stop Sales, told ABC News Local 7 in California.
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“We worked so hard to get to this point, and for them to just come in and, like nothing, take it all away, it’s really bad.”
In March this year, a 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stealing $10,000 worth of Lego blocks from a local toy store, according to officials in Washington state in the US.