‘Star Wars’ sets among $2,000 in stolen Legos found in store, Washington police say

“Star Wars” Lego sets were going missing from a store at an alarming rate, a business owner told police.

A downtown Seattle business owner noticed popular Lego sets were being repeatedly stolen from their store from July to September. Specifically, “The Mandalorian” and other “Star Wars” sets were disappearing, the Seattle Police Department said.

“The loss prevention employee estimated the suspect stole more than $10,000 worth of products between July and September,” police said Monday in a news release. “Employees helped police identify the shoplifter and detectives began an investigation.”

An employee of the store was walking in Pike Place when he noticed a store stocked with many of the Lego sets that were taken from his workplace, police said.

The items still had identification tags that tracked them to the original business, according to police. The store’s loss prevention supervisor notified police that he seemingly found the Lego sets in another business.

“While the detective was at the store, the prolific shoplifter arrived and sold multiple items to the shop’s owner,” police said. “Through additional undercover work, police determined the owner was knowingly trafficking stolen goods.”

Police obtained a warrant to search the store and found thousands of dollars worth of stolen items. They also found 171 stolen Lego sets, authorities said.

“Using RFID tags and unique identification numbers, the loss prevention representative identified 34 of the products as originating in his store, valued at more than $2,000,” police said.

The shop owner, a 67-year-old, was arrested on suspicion of trafficking in stolen property.

This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 11:25 AM with the headline "‘Star Wars’ sets among $2,000 in stolen Legos found in store, Washington police say."