They're colorful, valuable, and make the most delightful noise shaking around in their box … and to the trained criminal eye, they glitter nearly as valuably as uncut diamonds. What are they? Humble Lego sets.

Recently, thieves have begun targeting Lego sets as (relatively) high value and nearly untraceable goods. Why? The brick toys are in massive demand, can be instantly resold, command high prices for hard to find or mint condition sets, and are extremely difficult to track as stolen goods. Over the years, Lego sets have become more elaborate — for example, Lego recently released a kit of the Millennium Falcon, comprising 7,541 pieces and, notably, retailing for $849.95. An unopened Lego Star Wars Cloud City set from 2023 will set you back $7,000.

A Lego crime ring was recently busted in southern California where police said they found 2,800 boxes of Lego, with individual values ranging from $20 to “well over” $1,000. They included Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Marvel sets. In similar recent cases thieves smashed their way into stores and made off with around $100,000 worth of Lego kits.

“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.

Possible Preaching Angles:

1) Value - It's a fascinating case study in value—sometimes the easily overlooked things right under our noses are more interesting or valuable than we think; 2) Greed; Temptation – The sinful desire for wealth can lead to sin, destruction, and judgment; 3) Meaning; Purpose - The Bible often speaks of the emptiness of material possessions and the search for true meaning and purpose in life. People’s obsession with Lego sets might reflect a deeper longing for something more.