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The great Labubu heist: $30K worth of plushie monsters nabbed in La Puente
Burglars steal $30K worth of viral Labubu collectible dolls from a La Puente resale shop in a targeted heist, leaving owners shocked and hoping for leads.
The Labubu mania just got a little too real…and pricey. A small resale shop in La Puente, California, called One Stop Sales, found itself the target of a carefully planned smash-and-grab that cleared out about $30,000 worth of those quirky, wide-eyed collectible monster plushies everyone’s been obsessing over.
Caught on camera
Co-owner Joanna Avendano described the devastating incident, which happened just two months after the shop opened. “There was a lot taken, maybe around $30,000 or more of inventory,” she said. “We worked so hard to get to this point, and for them to just come in and, like nothing, take it all away, it’s really bad.”
Surveillance footage shows suspects forcibly smashing through the front door shortly after 2 am on Wednesday morning. Avendano recounted how a gut feeling prompted her to check her phone, where she saw motion alerts and heard sounds from inside the shop. “I was watching everything, from when they got in, what they were taking,” she said. “I was panicking because I was just... I couldn’t do anything.”
Notably, the burglars bypassed electronics, cash, and other merchandise, focusing exclusively on the Labubu dolls - a clear sign the theft was targeted.
Theft planned through social media
Avendano suspects the break-in was carefully planned. She had noticed a suspicious truck parked near the shop the night before and believes the thieves may have been monitoring the shop’s social media, where a recent video had announced a new restock of Labubu dolls.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department City of Industry substation is actively investigating the case, and Avendano hopes the public will help identify the suspects or the suspicious vehicle seen near the store.
As the Labubu dolls continue to enjoy viral popularity on TikTok and celebrity endorsements, this incident highlights the risks small businesses face when stocking hot-ticket items with devoted followings. For now, One Stop Sales is left to pick up the pieces after a blow that has shaken the local business community.
