After nearly five months of investigating, police in Arizona have made arrests in a so-called Lego laundering scheme.
KPHO: "I've been at this quite a while, and it never ceases to amaze me the length that people will go through to get their money."
Police say they've found a whopping $200,000 worth of Legos, and that least $40,000 of the children's toys were stolen from Phoenix area "Toys R Us" stores. All those Legos were able to fit into three cargo trucks. The discovery came after police obtained search warrants for the homes and storage lockers of four people thought to be involved. (Video via KNXV)
Now, KTVK says those four have been arrested in connection with the massive theft. They're each facing different charges including fraudulent schemes, organized retail theft and trafficking stolen property.
The Arizona Republic reports the stolen Lego sets cost anywhere between $99 and $500. According to the paper, police say two of the suspects went to multiple stores and managed to get the merchandise out without setting off any alarms. Those two, along with another suspect, allegedly sold them at a discounted price on the streets and to a fourth suspect, who then sold them for a profit online.
Police say they're not sure how long the alleged ring was doing business. But surprisingly, this wasn't the only high-profile Lego heist over weekend. A New York woman also tried pulling off an illegal Lego selling business all on her own.
WNBC reports a Long Island woman is accused of stealing hundreds of boxes of Lego sets from one storage facility to another and trying to sell them on eBay for a profit. They were reportedly worth about $60,000.
And turn the calendar back a year, and you'll find another extreme case of Lego theft. Gizmodo reports a Silicon Valley executive pleaded no contest to stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of Legos and hiding them in his $2 million home.
Looks like everything is NOT awesome for all those who are currently accused of stealing Legos and now sitting in jail. Police in Arizona are saying more people might be involved in the alleged Lego scheme.
