Man stole $34k in Lego sets by swapping pieces with pasta
It sounds like something straight out of a movie, but yes, a real-life "Lego Bandit" exists. A Californian man is accused of stealing Lego sets from the store, taking them home, replacing pieces with pasta, and returning the sets for cash.
An elaborate plan to steal Lego
It's an elaborate plan that most would never even think up. The Irvine Police Department used surveillance to gather evidence and identify the suspect, Jarrelle Augustine.
Augustine is accused of purchasing Lego sets from Target, taking them home, and then removing Lego pieces and the minifigures.
According to the police, he would then fill the boxes with pasta so they sounded normal when he went back to the store to return the sets.
A $34,000 Lego heist
You may not think you'd make much in a Lego scheme, but Augustine has been linked to a shocking 70 thefts across the country. These amounted to approximately $34,000 in losses.
It is a staggering amount of money.
The police got a bit cheeky and posted the story to their social media sites with the following message:
"If your master plan involves swapping LEGOs for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente."
Stirred up some fun online
When the story broke, the internet did what it did best. Social media lit up with replies.
"This case had so many pastabilities. Good for IPD, using their noodle!"
"Stealing Legos and Goya beans?"
"You mean to tell me he was an ... impasta?! I'll see myself out."
It was the kind of news story that was too tempting not to comment on.
Lego a lot more valuable than you may have thought
If anything, this story shows you that Lego sets are a whole lot more valuable than you may have thought. So you may want to baby your sets and prized minifigures that you collected when you were young.
Source: Fox News
