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Officers Recover Thousands of Stolen LEGO Sets From Oregon Toy Shop

Rare LEGO sets aren’t just appealing to collectors—they’re also popular with criminals looking to get rich quick.

You favorite plastic building blocks are popular on the black market.
You favorite plastic building blocks are popular on the black market. | Shirlaine Forrest/GettyImages

LEGO has been putting smiles on people’s faces since the toy company started selling plastic bricks in 1949. The interlocking blocks grew in popularity and have since become a global sensation for collectors and builders of all ages. 

Criminals tend to like LEGO for different reasons. As The Guardian reports, one owner of a small store in Eugene, Oregon, allegedly tried to profit off the toys on the black market. 

These toys can be an incredible investment. A 2018 study found that LEGO sets can yield higher returns than stocks, bonds, or gold, with specific models selling for thousands of dollars on eBay. 

Those numbers have caught the attention of black market resellers. In July 2024, officers arrested Ammon Henrikson after finding over $200,000 worth of stolen toy kits in his Eugene shop, Brick Builders. There were 4153 stolen sets in all.

According to law enforcement, suspects allegedly stole the LEGO sets from local retailers and sold them to Henrikson at discounted prices, then used the proceeds to buy illegal drugs. Henrikson is charged with purchasing these items knowing they were stolen and reselling them in his store.

This case isn’t the first time LEGO has been involved in a heist. There have been a handful of LEGO crime sprees in recent years. Around the time of the Eugene, Oregon, bust, an arrest was made in connection to a separate alleged LEGO crime ring targeting Las Vegas Target stores. LEGO has also inspired criminal activity abroad. In 2021, French police started tracking an international gang of toy thieves specializing in shoplifting LEGO bricks. 

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