Could the popularity of the Lego movie cause an uptick in crimes involving the plastic building blocks? Last month at Toyworld, a massive toy store north of Melbourne, Australia, robbers removed the store’s glass door panes, and went to town
Last month at Toyworld, a massive toy store north of Melbourne, Australia, robbers removed the store’s glass door panes, walked in, removed a CCTV hard drive, and stole $15,000 worth of Lego kits in two separate raids with the help of an escape van, according to police, AAP reports. In the thefts, Legos were the only goods taken—specifically, Lego Technics, the brand’s robotics line, and Lego City toys.
The professionalism of the operation suggests that the theives could be “could be part of a syndicate that are specifically targetting Lego,” according to Australia’s 3AW Radio. In fact, there’s a rash of Lego crime going on, and not just because the Police Building Kit is apparently on a lunch break. Legos are highly portable and easily resold, plus they’re more popular than ever as of late—the Lego Movie has earned over $400 million worldwide.
Either the robbers are capitalizing on a trend for commercial toys to profitably break the law in the Lego black market, or they were just inspired by the movie to create their own version of Legoland. And if it’s the latter, can we really blame them?