Lego Bricks Are The Uncut Diamonds Of The Modern World – Everybody From Thieves To Drug Dealers Is Interested
Lego bricks appear to have gained a notoriety of becoming a highly lucrative black-market merchandise. In recent times, the plaything of innocent kids has become a hotly traded commodity and a readily acceptable currency for multiple less-than-legal agencies.
In quick succession, two police departments in separate states managed to bust a huge operation that primarily dealt with Lego bricks. Authorities in Nassau County, New York, arraigned 53-year-old Gloria Haas on grand larceny charges. She had allegedly stolen 800 sets of the iconic toys from a collector in Long Island. She made the mistake of trying to unload her stash, street-valued at $59,000, on eBay.
Less than two days later, police in in Phoenix, Arizona, busted an even bigger ring that dealt in Lego bricks. While they were hunting down men in connection with at least $40,000 worth of Legos stolen from several Toys “R” Us stores, they managed to uncover a huge operation in one of the suspects’ home and an exclusive storage facility. Police discovered $200,000 in Lego merchandise.
The thing that makes Legos so lucrative is that they are completely untraceable, and their origin can be easily fudged. Thieves can very easily sell unopened Lego sets almost immediately online for as much or more than the retail price. Furthermore, a cautious thief can choose to sit on them for a while, and unlike stolen electronic merchandise, the majority of the large Lego brick sets appreciate in value.
These busts have highlighted a major point – thieves have a growing sense of awareness about the revenue potential that Lego offers. Interestingly, Lego bricks have been gaining importance among criminals for quite some time. From Silicon Valley executives to thugs in Florida, and from conmen in Oklahoma to drug dealers in Amsterdam, people have not just been able to turn the Danish building blocks into fat stacks of Benjamins, but have even started to accept them as payment, reported Telegraaf.
The online e-commerce platforms are a perfect place to sell off illegally-gotten Lego brick sets. Online vendors say the persistent demand for Lego sets, combined with their tendency to appreciate in value over time and their difficulty to trace over the internet, have ensured the plastic toys remain highly irresistible to thieves, said Nathan Francis.
“The value of some coveted sets can skyrocket in a matter of years. The Lego 3450 Statue of Liberty sold for just $200 when it hit the market back in 2000. Lady Liberty, if unopened, now sells for as much as $10,000 on Amazon.”
Though the techniques and the targets may vary, criminals seem to be gaining handsomely from the plastic bricks. Looking at the disturbing trend, will Lego start to imprint traceability features on its products?
[Image Credit | Alamy]
