LOS ANGELES — The hooded man darted past shattered glass, his headlamp illuminating the rare collectibles housed in display cases that lined the walls of Bricks & Minifigs in Whittier.

“Ninjago” Ultra Violet (Oni Mask of Hatred). Percival Graves (“Harry Potter” Series 1). Velociraptor with Sand Green Back (“Jurassic World” Blue).

Those sought-after Lego mini-figures were among 600 or more stolen on May 3. In a predawn spree that lasted little more than a minute, the thief stuffed a garbage bag with about$10,000 worth of figurines before sprinting to a waiting car and speeding off.

The heist was one of seven carried out at Bricks & Minifigs outlets across the Southland since April, a$100,000-plus crime spree that, on the heels of other similar incidents, has rattled the growing — but cloistered — world of Lego collectors and merchants.

“Ten years ago I just couldn’t have imagined it — I did not think our little hobby was the kind of thing that would attract that kind of crime,” said Graham E. Hancock, editor of Blocks, an enthusiast magazine. “The idea that they are taking advantage of really dedicated collectors and resellers ... it is just scary for the hobby and for these businesses.”

The COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged the Lego collecting hobby, with homebound collectors blitzing online resellers in search of coveted items. That drove up prices, experts said, and attracted criminals.

Bricks & Minifigs, a franchised chain with more than 100 locations nationwide, maintains a unique position in the Lego economy. Unlike official Lego stores, Bricks & Minifigs outposts carry valuable sets and figurines no longer in production. Some are sold in their unopened boxes. Others are displayed in glass cases.

The roughly 1.5-inch figurines — known as “minifigs” among hobbyists — can trade for upward of $1,000 and are especially enticing to thieves, said Katie Leuschner, owner of the Whittier Boulevard store.

“You can’t steal a 1960s Mustang and hide that,” she said, “but you can hide a mini-figure and stockpile them for years, and they’re only going up in value.”

A market matures

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