5 ms·

Police Break Up Lego Theft Ring

58 points by sanj 1y ago

neuroelectron 1y ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20251018132853/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/lego-theft-california-arrest.html https://web.archive.org/web/20251018132853/https://www.nytim...
lvl155 1y ago
When I was into LEGO a few years back, I noticed there were a lot of bulk items available in Eastern Europe. I always wondered if they were either counterfeits or just grey. I couldn’t distinguish them so I just assumed they were grey because these items were not available in bulk directly from LEGO via bricks and pieces. When LEGO bought bricklink I thought they were going after fake vendors.
- bombcar 1y ago
  Bricks and pieces is pretty limited and cyclic. Many part out sees but others have access to internal model maker part ordering. Lego bought brick link to keep it alive after the founders family tired of running it after he died.
  - dathinab 1y ago
    > Lego bought brick link to keep it alive after the founders family tired of running it after he died. that makes a nice story but was not at all Legos core motivation taking control over the main secondary market is a grate way to - gain positive sentiment through things like the creator program - bolster you product prices by making sure the prices of 2nd hand sells stay high (which is both good and bed for the consumer, it's good as part of it is about consumer protection and reseller quality, but it's bad because there is a lot of insensitive to drive prices up beyond that) - systematically exclude all brick competition from the most dominant 2nd hand market, a typical consumer hostile marked power abuse move which by the removal of competition allows artificial higher part resell prices which then can be used to reason for higher prices of new products and also allows better enforcement of other abuse strategies, like how they systematically abuse trade mark law wrt. mini figures - by subtle support for one particular 2nd hand store and supple opposition(1) to others they can further enhance their monopoly position. (1: Or for anything reselling non Lego brick often not at all subtle legal harassment) - some degree of influence on information flowing through the market place, they can't abuse it that much but it's still a factor so they have a lot of money reasons which sadly most likely won't be good for the consumer to buy it, any story about "saving it" (weather real or not) is a bonus on top which by itself is unlikely to have made them buy it.
- dathinab 1y ago
  not all eastern bulk vendors are fake/involved in some form a illegal action there is some (small) money into taking Lego sets apart and selling the parts (1), but only if the sorting and for used sets taking apart, cleaning, damage/quality assessment are cheap enough. So countries with lower wages(2) are better suited. At the same parts people from less-wage countries have more motivation for "clever"/unusual business ventures weather legal or not. (1): Naturally not for all sets, but every session there are some badly selling sets you might be able to buy both with large Rabatt and in bulk and have enough "good" parts to be worth it. "mini figure only" collectors and sometimes being able to buy for retail prices can help, too. (2): While especially Poland has been catching up Europe in general still has the lowest wages in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_minimum_wage#Net_income_(adjusted_for_living_costs_in_PPP) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_...
  - lukan 1y ago
    "While especially Poland has been catching up Europe in general still has the lowest wages in Europe" That would have surprised me a lot ... and is also not supported by your link. Poland is rather average by now.
- cardanome 1y ago
  Only the lego figurines are protected. You can legally produce lego compatible bricks and many reputable companies like Cobi do so. There is nothing grey about it. Some of these companies offer better quality than Lego these days. Lego isn't the only game in town anymore.
  - spott 1y ago
    Who offers better quality than Lego?
    - skeeter2020 1y ago
      I think this has been a big part of keeping Lego quality, specifically in the plastic. Unfortunately it's also been a huge pillar in their cross-promotional strategy which has meant a focus on IP tie-ins and dumbed-down sets. It's hugely profitable and also allows you to make a lot more protected pieces.
    - cardanome 1y ago
      Cobi (producing in the EU), Cada, Mould King, Bluebrixx (Germany based, not producing the bricks themselves so quality can vary but sets are pretty good.) I could go on. Lego has really bad quality these days. They used to have a good reputation but it has been a sharp downturn these days. Just look at the new $1000 Death Star set they recently release. The most expensive set ever and shit tier quality.
      - thebruce87m 1y ago
        > The most expensive set ever and shit tier quality. What is the measure of quality? I buy my son sets and help him build them and they seem fine to me.
        cardanome 1y ago
        Mostly prints vs sticker, color consistency, building techniques, visible sprue points, whether figurines has special prints on arms and stuff like that. For a child most sets will be fine if you don't need to care about the price. Though some sets want to install an Smartphone app for full functionality which I think is a pretty shite idea as most good parents want to get their children away from the screens. However a lot of adults are also collecting Lego. And the 1000 Dollar Death Start is aimed at them, not children. It is an UCS set, which normally means higher quality. The problem is that a lot of cost cutting measures have been used to save up a few cents here and there for the most expensive set ever. The figurines are trash. The sets includes stickers. The problem with stickers is that they look like ass over time so not really suited for serious collecting. The backside of the set looks absolutely disgusting. Which would be fine as you could put it in front of a wall but alas you can only access certain features by the backside. The elevator mechanic is trash. Honestly just watch a video of the thing. And worst of all, the Tie Fighter needed for the set to be complete was only available as an extra goodie for early buyers to spread FOMO. One thousand dollars and you don't even get the whole thing. Scalpers sell that Tie Fighter for like two hundred.
- Freak_NL 1y ago
  Bricklink seems like a pretty lousy place to sell counterfeit Lego bricks. Sellers get reviewed by the buyers (and vice versa), and the buyers there are pretty much committed to genuine Lego bricks (and vocal of sellers not keeping up their end of the bargain). I doubt if there is much counterfeit stuff on there. The economy for sellers lies more in picking up unopened new sets for bargain prices from local shops, both on and off-line, and reselling the individual bricks. New Lego sets just are cheaper in Eastern Europe. Part of this economy is that some bricks are much more sought after, which is reflected in the piece prices. This also means that more common pieces will be sold cheaper. It seems to balance out. Personally, I rarely need to look beyond the Netherlands for bricks I buy for MOCs on Bricklink. Sometimes Germany or Belgium. The prices just are competitive.
- Theodores 1y ago
  I inherited a rare vintage LEGO advent calendar set, unopened and still in its plastic sleeve. I tried to 'cash in' on this find but there was a surprising lack of interest and we ended up keeping it in the family. Maybe I was just trying to sell at the wrong time of the year. Regardless, this made me wonder about how strong the secondary marketplace for LEGO actually is. How much of it is people buying LEGO for their kids and how much is it adults buying for their inner nine year old selves? Nonetheless, LEGO definitely is attractive to thieves when there are these secondary marketplaces. With stolen goods the goal is to get rid as quickly as possible to get cash as quickly as possible. With the price of LEGO being what it is, with $1000 sets, the thief only has to undercut legitimate retailers. For the likes of myself with a rare and collectable set to find a buyer for, I want the premium and I am not going to sell cheap, hence I might have been understandably disappointed by the secondary market for LEGO.
  - bombcar 1y ago
    The secondary market for LEGO is pretty healthy, meaning the prices are kept relatively sane. And unless you’re specifically collecting unopened sets, what you really have to pay for is rare pieces in rare colors, which LEGO actually monitors and releases again from time-to-time.
thenoblesunfish 1y ago
$6000 worth of stolen goods doesn't seem like that big of a story? Tens of thousands of lego pieces isn't much?
- EvanAnderson 1y ago
  The whole "beheaded" angle was irritating. Their heads are made to come off. And they're just plastic figurines, not living things.
  - dathinab 1y ago
    if they got extracted from unopened Lego sets (e.g. to "launder" stolen Lego sets through the 2nd hand part market) they didn't even need to "take them off" (at least in the past) they did ship as separate parts.
  - maeln 1y ago
    But that's the whole joke of the article ? I don't think it is intended to be that serious. It is kind of those "weird"/rare crime that newspaper have fun reporting on
- zzzeek 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - skeeter2020 1y ago
    Don't disagree, but let's be clear: the alternative is not (as might be implied) deep, introspective thought-pieces. It's chum for the other color of ignorant closed minds.
    - harvey9 1y ago
      Surely all three possibilities exist? One reason I come here is people linking to interesting writing that I wouldn't otherwise hear about.
    - 1y ago
sanjaynegi94 1y ago
[dead]
raverbashing 1y ago
Great they're finally picking up the pieces in this case
- jschveibinz 1y ago
  Yes, things are really moving a head.
  - antonvs 1y ago
    Everything is starting to snap into place
    - em-bee 1y ago
      they are putting a new face on crime solving by stacking one clue on top of another.
      - ccvannorman 1y ago
        they'll take apart this criminal empire brick by brick
        em-bee 1y ago
        no stone will be left unturned
        schrectacular 1y ago
        As long as nothing blocks the investigation!
        hecturchi 1y ago
        I doubt we see many knee jerk mistakes on this one...
rambambram 1y ago
Dramatic beginning of the article. It's plastic figures designed so the head can come of, they talk about it like it's the most gruesome crime scene ever found.
- HPsquared 1y ago
  This would go well in a darker / horror version of the Lego movie. Maybe one for a reboot in 20 years time.
  - gwd 1y ago
    I dunno, the original Lego movie had people's personalities permanently removed by using acetate to wipe off their faces. I don't see how headless Legos could be more disturbing than that...
- blitzar 1y ago
  They could have been conducting setanic rituals with those severed heads.
weinzierl 1y ago
The story is a nothing burger and the headline is clickbait, but I can't help finding it funny. The headline is so over the top that it's actually good again.
- khimaros 1y ago
  perhaps because it reads exactly like a The Onion headline. NYT: America's Finest News Source!
self_awareness 1y ago
What a monster!
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
davidwritesbugs 1y ago
Perhap his punishment will be that he has to walk barefoot over every piece.

58 points by sanj 1y ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20251018132853/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/lego-theft-california-arrest.html https://web.archive.org/web/20251018132853/https://www.nytim...

lvl155 1y ago

When I was into LEGO a few years back, I noticed there were a lot of bulk items available in Eastern Europe. I always wondered if they were either counterfeits or just grey. I couldn’t distinguish them so I just assumed they were grey because these items were not available in bulk directly from LEGO via bricks and pieces. When LEGO bought bricklink I thought they were going after fake vendors.

bombcar 1y ago
Bricks and pieces is pretty limited and cyclic. Many part out sees but others have access to internal model maker part ordering. Lego bought brick link to keep it alive after the founders family tired of running it after he died.
- dathinab 1y ago
  > Lego bought brick link to keep it alive after the founders family tired of running it after he died. that makes a nice story but was not at all Legos core motivation taking control over the main secondary market is a grate way to - gain positive sentiment through things like the creator program - bolster you product prices by making sure the prices of 2nd hand sells stay high (which is both good and bed for the consumer, it's good as part of it is about consumer protection and reseller quality, but it's bad because there is a lot of insensitive to drive prices up beyond that) - systematically exclude all brick competition from the most dominant 2nd hand market, a typical consumer hostile marked power abuse move which by the removal of competition allows artificial higher part resell prices which then can be used to reason for higher prices of new products and also allows better enforcement of other abuse strategies, like how they systematically abuse trade mark law wrt. mini figures - by subtle support for one particular 2nd hand store and supple opposition(1) to others they can further enhance their monopoly position. (1: Or for anything reselling non Lego brick often not at all subtle legal harassment) - some degree of influence on information flowing through the market place, they can't abuse it that much but it's still a factor so they have a lot of money reasons which sadly most likely won't be good for the consumer to buy it, any story about "saving it" (weather real or not) is a bonus on top which by itself is unlikely to have made them buy it.
dathinab 1y ago
not all eastern bulk vendors are fake/involved in some form a illegal action there is some (small) money into taking Lego sets apart and selling the parts (1), but only if the sorting and for used sets taking apart, cleaning, damage/quality assessment are cheap enough. So countries with lower wages(2) are better suited. At the same parts people from less-wage countries have more motivation for "clever"/unusual business ventures weather legal or not. (1): Naturally not for all sets, but every session there are some badly selling sets you might be able to buy both with large Rabatt and in bulk and have enough "good" parts to be worth it. "mini figure only" collectors and sometimes being able to buy for retail prices can help, too. (2): While especially Poland has been catching up Europe in general still has the lowest wages in Europe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_minimum_wage#Net_income_(adjusted_for_living_costs_in_PPP) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_...
- lukan 1y ago
  "While especially Poland has been catching up Europe in general still has the lowest wages in Europe" That would have surprised me a lot ... and is also not supported by your link. Poland is rather average by now.
cardanome 1y ago
Only the lego figurines are protected. You can legally produce lego compatible bricks and many reputable companies like Cobi do so. There is nothing grey about it. Some of these companies offer better quality than Lego these days. Lego isn't the only game in town anymore.
- spott 1y ago
  Who offers better quality than Lego?
  - skeeter2020 1y ago
    I think this has been a big part of keeping Lego quality, specifically in the plastic. Unfortunately it's also been a huge pillar in their cross-promotional strategy which has meant a focus on IP tie-ins and dumbed-down sets. It's hugely profitable and also allows you to make a lot more protected pieces.
  - cardanome 1y ago
    Cobi (producing in the EU), Cada, Mould King, Bluebrixx (Germany based, not producing the bricks themselves so quality can vary but sets are pretty good.) I could go on. Lego has really bad quality these days. They used to have a good reputation but it has been a sharp downturn these days. Just look at the new $1000 Death Star set they recently release. The most expensive set ever and shit tier quality.
    - thebruce87m 1y ago
      > The most expensive set ever and shit tier quality. What is the measure of quality? I buy my son sets and help him build them and they seem fine to me.
      - cardanome 1y ago
        Mostly prints vs sticker, color consistency, building techniques, visible sprue points, whether figurines has special prints on arms and stuff like that. For a child most sets will be fine if you don't need to care about the price. Though some sets want to install an Smartphone app for full functionality which I think is a pretty shite idea as most good parents want to get their children away from the screens. However a lot of adults are also collecting Lego. And the 1000 Dollar Death Start is aimed at them, not children. It is an UCS set, which normally means higher quality. The problem is that a lot of cost cutting measures have been used to save up a few cents here and there for the most expensive set ever. The figurines are trash. The sets includes stickers. The problem with stickers is that they look like ass over time so not really suited for serious collecting. The backside of the set looks absolutely disgusting. Which would be fine as you could put it in front of a wall but alas you can only access certain features by the backside. The elevator mechanic is trash. Honestly just watch a video of the thing. And worst of all, the Tie Fighter needed for the set to be complete was only available as an extra goodie for early buyers to spread FOMO. One thousand dollars and you don't even get the whole thing. Scalpers sell that Tie Fighter for like two hundred.
Freak_NL 1y ago
Bricklink seems like a pretty lousy place to sell counterfeit Lego bricks. Sellers get reviewed by the buyers (and vice versa), and the buyers there are pretty much committed to genuine Lego bricks (and vocal of sellers not keeping up their end of the bargain). I doubt if there is much counterfeit stuff on there. The economy for sellers lies more in picking up unopened new sets for bargain prices from local shops, both on and off-line, and reselling the individual bricks. New Lego sets just are cheaper in Eastern Europe. Part of this economy is that some bricks are much more sought after, which is reflected in the piece prices. This also means that more common pieces will be sold cheaper. It seems to balance out. Personally, I rarely need to look beyond the Netherlands for bricks I buy for MOCs on Bricklink. Sometimes Germany or Belgium. The prices just are competitive.
Theodores 1y ago
I inherited a rare vintage LEGO advent calendar set, unopened and still in its plastic sleeve. I tried to 'cash in' on this find but there was a surprising lack of interest and we ended up keeping it in the family. Maybe I was just trying to sell at the wrong time of the year. Regardless, this made me wonder about how strong the secondary marketplace for LEGO actually is. How much of it is people buying LEGO for their kids and how much is it adults buying for their inner nine year old selves? Nonetheless, LEGO definitely is attractive to thieves when there are these secondary marketplaces. With stolen goods the goal is to get rid as quickly as possible to get cash as quickly as possible. With the price of LEGO being what it is, with $1000 sets, the thief only has to undercut legitimate retailers. For the likes of myself with a rare and collectable set to find a buyer for, I want the premium and I am not going to sell cheap, hence I might have been understandably disappointed by the secondary market for LEGO.
- bombcar 1y ago
  The secondary market for LEGO is pretty healthy, meaning the prices are kept relatively sane. And unless you’re specifically collecting unopened sets, what you really have to pay for is rare pieces in rare colors, which LEGO actually monitors and releases again from time-to-time.

thenoblesunfish 1y ago

$6000 worth of stolen goods doesn't seem like that big of a story? Tens of thousands of lego pieces isn't much?

EvanAnderson 1y ago
The whole "beheaded" angle was irritating. Their heads are made to come off. And they're just plastic figurines, not living things.
- dathinab 1y ago
  if they got extracted from unopened Lego sets (e.g. to "launder" stolen Lego sets through the 2nd hand part market) they didn't even need to "take them off" (at least in the past) they did ship as separate parts.
- maeln 1y ago
  But that's the whole joke of the article ? I don't think it is intended to be that serious. It is kind of those "weird"/rare crime that newspaper have fun reporting on
zzzeek 1y ago
[flagged]
- skeeter2020 1y ago
  Don't disagree, but let's be clear: the alternative is not (as might be implied) deep, introspective thought-pieces. It's chum for the other color of ignorant closed minds.
  - harvey9 1y ago
    Surely all three possibilities exist? One reason I come here is people linking to interesting writing that I wouldn't otherwise hear about.
  - 1y ago

sanjaynegi94 1y ago

[dead]

raverbashing 1y ago

Great they're finally picking up the pieces in this case

jschveibinz 1y ago
Yes, things are really moving a head.
- antonvs 1y ago
  Everything is starting to snap into place
  - em-bee 1y ago
    they are putting a new face on crime solving by stacking one clue on top of another.
    - ccvannorman 1y ago
      they'll take apart this criminal empire brick by brick
      - em-bee 1y ago
        no stone will be left unturned
        schrectacular 1y ago
        As long as nothing blocks the investigation!
        hecturchi 1y ago
        I doubt we see many knee jerk mistakes on this one...

rambambram 1y ago

Dramatic beginning of the article. It's plastic figures designed so the head can come of, they talk about it like it's the most gruesome crime scene ever found.

HPsquared 1y ago
This would go well in a darker / horror version of the Lego movie. Maybe one for a reboot in 20 years time.
- gwd 1y ago
  I dunno, the original Lego movie had people's personalities permanently removed by using acetate to wipe off their faces. I don't see how headless Legos could be more disturbing than that...
blitzar 1y ago
They could have been conducting setanic rituals with those severed heads.

weinzierl 1y ago

The story is a nothing burger and the headline is clickbait, but I can't help finding it funny. The headline is so over the top that it's actually good again.

khimaros 1y ago
perhaps because it reads exactly like a The Onion headline. NYT: America's Finest News Source!

self_awareness 1y ago

What a monster!

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

davidwritesbugs 1y ago

Perhap his punishment will be that he has to walk barefoot over every piece.