Forget Luxury Watches. Thieves Are Now Targeting Labubus.
The Chinese plush toy monsters have inexplicably taken the luxury world by storm, often adorned in Cartier jewels or dangling from Birkins. The furry creatures gained popularity in 2018 but soared to the status of global viral trend at the beginning of this summer, owned by everyone from Cher to Rihanna to David Beckham.
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Eventually, a black market emerged for resellers of the viral doll. Once widely available in blind boxes for around $30, Labubus are now a scarce commodity as rare as Beanie Babies in the '90s. In June, a 4-foot-tall version of the toy even sold for $170,000 at the first official Labubu Auction in Beijing.
As popularity only continues to grow, some resellers are willing to risk it all. On August 6, around 1:30 am, four people broke into One Stop Sales in Los Angeles County and stole thousands of dollars' worth of Labubus. The store shared security footage on Instagram, in which the thieves can be seen shattering glass and fleeing the scene with boxes of inventory.
Local officials told The Cut that the boxes of stolen collectibles were valued at approximately $7,000, while the store estimated that the cost was significantly higher, even setting up a GoFundMe claiming the goods were worth over $25,000. Some of their Labubu stock retailed for as much as $500 apiece.
Just a week later and 30 minutes away from the initial heist, another Labubu burglary was reported at a home in Upland, California—seemingly by an unrelated band of thieves, according to The Cut. Detectives from the Chino Police Department recovered 14 boxes of the furry toys stolen from local warehouses and amounting to $30,000.
Police also found evidence that the thieves planned to resell and ship the merchandise across the country, a growing trend amidst the Labubu mania. The recovered property was quickly returned to its rightful owners, according to ABC News.
Once a niche collectible, Labubu has clawed its way to the upper echelons of luxury—and now, apparently, (slightly) organized crime.
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