The Labubu craze culminated this week after California police recovered roughly $30,000 worth of Labubu dolls that were stolen from a warehouse.
The fluffy, fang-toothed plush dolls have become all the rage, dangling from handbags and backpacks. The collectible dolls, mainly sold by Pop Mart, have grown to be a coveted commodity, frequently out of stock due to the surge in demand.
The Labubus were stolen in a series of trips that spanned multiple days, the Chino Police Department said in a social media post Tuesday.
Law enforcement found the items at a home in Upland, next to Los Angeles. There, a suspect attempted to flee but ultimately surrendered without incident, police said. The suspect has not been identified.
Investigators found 14 boxes of stolen items and evidence indicating the suspects were planning to resell and ship the collectibles across the country, the department said.
The recovery comes days after a group of masked thieves stole about $7,000 worth of Labubus from One Stop Sales, a store in La Puente known for selling the toothy monsters.
One Stop Sales said in an Instagram post that the thieves took all of the store’s inventory and ransacked the store.
Surveillance video captured a group of people wearing hoodies and masks breaking in to the shop in the wee hours of August 6 before shuffling through items and leaving with boxes.
“We are still in shock,” the store said in its post, urging people to help find the burglars.
The grinning dolls have really sunk their teeth into society since they were created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. The collectible figurines are often sold in ‘blind boxes’ – sealed containers holding a surprise item from a themed collection.
The dolls’ popularity seems to have stemmed from Lisa, from the K-pop band BlackPink, who shared her Labubu on her Instagram stories and even referred to Labubu as her “baby” during an interview with Teen Vogue.
Other celebrities have also jumped on the trend. Rihanna has been seen with a Labubu attached to her Louis Vuitton bag while Emma Roberts took to Instagram to open a blind box.
Given the surge in demand, last month, Pop Mart said it expects at least a 350 percent profit and about a 200 percent jump in revenue for the first six months of the year.
