Three men sentenced for stealing LEGO sets worth more than £4,000

Three men have been handed suspended jail sentences for stealing dozens of toys – including LEGO sets – which were collectively worth more than £4,000.

According to Nottinghamshire Police in the UK, Conlon McDonagh, Tom McDonagh and Patrick Ward – all 22 years old, and all based in London – took the sets from three different B&M stores across August 29 and 30. Police said that one of the trio distracted staff while the other two made off with around £650 of LEGO sets on their first trip to B&M Worksop, on August 29 at roughly 5pm UK time.

Around three hours later, the men filled up four large bags with approximately £1,000 of LEGO sets at B&M Mansfield, then left the store without paying. They then completed their spree by lifting an eye-watering £3,000 in products from B&M Netherfield on August 30, where they were apparently challenged by a shop assistant on leaving. One of the men was said to have sworn at the assistant before the trio fled by car.

Police subsequently launched a manhunt for the culprits, and on August 31 an officer discovered a vehicle ‘filled with toys’ near Newark, reports the BBC. The vehicle was then determined to be wanted in connection with the LEGO thefts, and was eventually stopped along the A17. The three men inside were arrested and appeared in court two days later, where they pleaded guilty to stealing the sets.

“They travelled to Nottinghamshire to commit these high-value thefts, thinking they could get away with it,” Sergeant Antony Coleman of Nottinghamshire Police told The Irish Post. “They were wrong.”

The three men were each sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for a year. They’re also now banned from entering any B&M stores for 12 months. Thefts involving LEGO sets are unfortunately nothing new: in 2021, incidents involving stolen LEGO cropped up across the US, Australia and Germany, while police in the UK recovered almost £1,000 in stolen LEGO Technic and Creator Expert sets earlier this year.

Featured image: Nottinghamshire Police

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