The shop window of an Intertoys toy store in the Dutch town of Voorburg (near The Hague) was rammed with a white van just after 9:30 pm on Friday night, and according to the store manager, the perpetrators were likely targeting Lego and Pokemon items.
“Part of the facade is broken,” the manager told local broadcaster Omroep West . “Fortunately, we are prepared for this kind of attack, and we have laminated glass in the front, so they were not able to take much.”
Lego and Pokemon toys in demand
A ram raid on a toy store might seem unlikely, but the sums involved are high. “The Lego Masters program has made Lego very popular, and Pokémon is also worth a lot of money,” the store manager said.
The number of Lego-related thefts is on the rise.
Both The Guardian and NPR have recently written about the increase in Lego crime, both in Europe and beyond.
The limited-edition sets soon become collectors’ items, and easily fetch 4-figure or even 5-figure sums.
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A similar trend is afoot for stealing Pokemon items, with some thieves even resorting to violence to get their hands on the coveted cards.
Photo credit: Regio15.nl
The toy store will remain closed today, and will open again on Monday.
No one was injured in this “ram-raid” theft.
Immediately after the ram raid, the police started a search, in which a police helicopter was also deployed. Witnesses had seen that there were two men in the van, and gave the number license plate number to the police.
The van that was probably used for the raid was later found in The Hague, and has been impounded for investigation.
No arrests have yet been made.
You can see more photos and video of last night’s Dutch ram-raid here.