LA PUENTE, Calif. (KABC) — The Labubu craze triggered a costly break-in at a small resale shop in La Puente where burglars made off with an estimated $30,000 in merchandise, and all the dolls that now have a devoted social media following.
Joanna Avendano, co-owner of One Stop Sales, said her shop had only been open for two months when it was burglarized early Wednesday morning.
“There was a lot taken, maybe like 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 from inside the store captured the moment the suspects smashed through the front door just after 2 a.m.
“A gut feeling to check my phone,” recalled Avendano. “Once I checked my phone, I saw there was motion, a sound that was coming through the front.”
The suspects bypassed electronics, cash and other merchandise, targeting only the high-value Labubu dolls, the whimsical, wide-eyed collectible, monster plushies that have gone viral on TikTok and gained popularity through celebrity endorsements.
“I was watching everything, from when they got in, what they were taking,” said Avendano. “I was panicking because I was just … I couldn’t do anything.”
Avendano said she believes the break-in was planned.
She had noticed a suspicious truck parked near the store before closing Tuesday night and suspects the burglars had been watching the shop’s social media account, where she had recently posted a video announcing a new restock.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department City of Industry substation is investigating the burglary.
Avendano hopes someone will recognize the suspects or the truck seen near the shop.
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