£1,000 of stolen LEGO Technic and Creator Expert sets discovered by police

Police have discovered and recovered almost £1,000 of LEGO Technic and Creator Expert sets reportedly stolen from a shopping centre in the UK.

Kent Police pulled over a ‘suspicious’ car in Sevenoaks earlier this week – only to find it was stuffed to the brim with brand new LEGO releases, several of which were still bound with security tags. According to the force’s Twitter account, @KentPolice7oaks, checks with Essex Police confirmed that the sets had been stolen from Essex’s Lakeside shopping centre.

The loot consisted of three copies of 10298 Vespa 125, four copies of 42139 All-Terrain Vehicle and four copies of 42140 App-Controlled Transformation Vehicle, all of which launched March 1. Together, those sets add up to £989.89 at retail – or £905.89 at Smyths Toys, where both 10298 Vespa 125 and 42140 App-Controlled Transformation Vehicle are currently marked down.

The image above, tweeted by Kent Police, includes signage for Smyths Toys – suggesting the sets were stolen from the toy store’s Lakeside shopping centre branch. The suspect’s details have now been passed on to Essex Police.

LEGO is becoming an increasingly common target for thieves. Last year alone, incidents of LEGO theft sprung up in Germany, Australia and the US, while two men in the UK were jailed for attempting to smuggle cocaine in toy boxes that included LEGO DUPLO packaging. Seattle Police also used a copy of 75318 The Child to bust a $10,000 LEGO trafficking operation.

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