PUYALLUP, Wash. — An eight-month investigation by undercover Puyallup police detectives led to the arrest of two men accused of buying and selling stolen Legos.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Anthony Neely and Brian Lauman with five counts of attempted trafficking of stolen property after detectives said the men bought Lego sets they were led to believe had been stolen.
The investigation began after reports of shoplifters stealing from a nearby Target store and selling the set for cash. The Target now puts the Lego sets behind locked cabinets, but last year they were wrapped in anti-theft devices.
On five occasions, between March and November of 2023, Puyallup detectives sold Lego sets to Neely and Lauman while they worked at South Hill Rare Coins, LLC on Meridian East in Puyallup. According to court documents, undercover investigators posed as sellers who made it clear the items were shoplifted.
During their investigation, detectives took the Lego sets with the anti-theft devices still attached to the business. When they were told they couldn't sell the items, detectives went outside, removed the devices, and returned to sell the Legos within minutes.
The men are accused of reselling the stolen items online.
John Berlanga makes dentures next to the Puyallup pawn shop involved in the investigation. He said you could see "clear as day" people unloading items out of boxes. He said he always suspected his neighbors were buying and selling stolen goods.
The two men have since been released and are awaiting trial.
Legos are popular among thieves because of their street value. Some rare collectible Lego sets sell for thousands of dollars online. Legos are difficult to trace and can be resold quickly on the black market.