Imagine waking up to a loud crash in the middle of the night. You look out the window and see a U-Haul truck backing into the store below. The driver just hit the sign. A few people jump out, bust through the front door, and start loading the truck with stolen goods. But there’s something odd about this robbery. The store only sells Lego.

Lego crime is real

Parents love to complain about how expensive Lego sets are. Some Washington state thieves saw an opportunity. Instead of paying retail, they backed up a truck and took the bricks by force. Presumably to resell on the black market.

The target? Sasquatch Bricks, a mom-and-pop Lego shop in University Place, Washington. The thieves struck early Thursday morning, shattering the front door and filling a U-Haul with high-end sets.

Store owner Scott Nelson admits his store was an obvious target. “Everybody that comes in here, you know, they’re awestruck by it,” he said. “Oh my gosh, so much Lego, so much variety.” These thieves weren’t grabbing random boxes. They had a plan.

Big sets, big money

In under five minutes, they cleaned out some of the store’s most valuable inventory. “It was a little bit of everything,” Nelson said. “There were Star Wars, there was Ninjago, there were a Saturn V rocket, a Disney castle.” He estimates that the thieves nabbed over $10k of his inventory. They weren’t just picking up toys. They were stealing investments.

When Lego discontinues a collectible set, old inventory often appreciates in value. Some collectors pay thousands for these sets. Nelson’s store specializes in both new and used sets, checking every box carefully.

“We count every piece,” he explained. “So if a customer comes in and brings a used pre-owned set in, we want to make sure all the pieces and parts are there for the next person.”

The thieves knew exactly what they were doing. So how many sets did they need to steal to make off with $10,000 in bricks? Only 13 or 14.

A crime of opportunity

“They were literally in here under five minutes,” Nelson said. “Took the stuff, threw it in the back of a U-Haul, and away they went.” Now, he’s warning other Lego retailers.

“In case those folks are going to decide that they want to try to sell it to another Lego resale store, they will not not get very far with that.” It’s not the first time Lego sets have been targeted.

“This hasn’t been an unusual thing in the Lego community for the last few years,” Nelson said. “There have been smash and grabs, Targets, Walmarts. All the big box stores now have all their Lego locked up.”

High-end Lego theft is serious business. And the folks behind the Great Lego Heist of 2025? They knew exactly which bricks to take.

You can learn more about the Sasquatch Bricks theft in the video embedded below: