Why Lego is the new ‘Uncut Diamond’: Bricks are easy picking for thieves because they are untraceable and in high demand

During a bust police found 18-pellets of Lego at one alleged thief's home

'Criminals' have used their own bar codes to buy the toy at cheaper prices

Lego seller Nathan Francis said it makes 'total sense' why the toy is stolen



Criminals have turned to Lego as a new way of making easy money, stealing and re-selling sets in a growing black market.



Police have made several large-scale busts involving Lego thefts in recent weeks, as criminals have become increasingly aware of the ease and speed at which the Danish toy can be sold online.



The toys also quickly increase in value, and like Uncut Diamonds, are difficult to trace.



Police are regularly uncovering large-scale Lego thefts as criminals increasingly become aware of the ease in which the toy can be on-sold, their increasing value and the fact they are largely untraceable; the above picture is of 18-pallets of Lego seized during a recent raid on the Arizona, U.S home of Troy Koehler Nathan Francis, who legally sells sets of Lego on BrickLink in his spare time, said it makes 'total sense' that thieves would turn to the toy to make easy money

Gloria Haas, 53, was this week charged with grand larceny after allegedly snatching 800 sets of the toy - worth £35,000 - from a Long Island, New York, collector before trying to sell them on eBay, Vocativ.com reported.



Less than 48-hours later, in Phoenix, Arizona, police arrested four people in connection with £24,000 worth of Lego stolen from toy stores. They also found £120,000 of Lego merchandise - 18 pallets worth - in one of the suspects' homes and in a storage facility.

In Phoenix, earlier this month, police arrested Garry Fairbee, 35, Tarah Dailey, 33, and Melissa Dailey, 34, who were allegedly stealing the most valuable Lego sets they could find, before passing them on to Troy Koehler, 40, who is believed to have sold them online.

In a more elaborate example of the crime, last year police arrested Thomas Lagenbach who made his own bar codes which he then placed on Lego sets so he could buy them at a cheaper price.



Tarah Dailey, 33

Melissa Dailey, 34

Troy Koehler, 40



Police found hundreds of sets of stolen Lego in the Silicon Valley tech executives home.

Earlier this year thieves in Australia used angle grinders and crowbars to steal a haul of the toy from four separate retailers, and in England thieves have struck Lego trucks before the toy could even reach stores.



In almost every case, the stolen Lego is sold online, where limited edition sets - like those linked to movies - can fetch several thousand pounds.

