A man has been arrested after dozens of Labubu dolls were found during a police search at a property in Melbourne’s west on Tuesday.
Victoria Police said they discovered 43 Labubu dolls inside the Webb Road property in Airport West, which had an estimated total value of $9,000.
Among the seized dolls, several were limited edition, with a value of about $500 each.
Collectable Labubu dolls have recently gained popularity in Australia. (Unsplash)
Police alleged the dolls were stolen during a spate of burglaries at a Melbourne CBD shopping centre since July.
The 40-year-old man has been charged with burglary and theft and has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in May 2026.
Labubu craze
Labubu dolls have recently gained popularity in Australia, with people lining up outside flagship stores for hours to get their hands on the collectible toys.
The plush dolls were first released by Chinese toy company Pop Mart in 2019, sold inside blind-boxes and are available in multiple toy stores across Melbourne.
Labubu collector and content creator Rome Viduya said the dolls were “cute, but also kinda ugly, which is really fun”.
Mr Viduya, who owns more than 25 Labubus, said one small toy usually costs around $35 when bought from a store.
He believes resellers in the market are causing prices to increase significantly.
Rome Viduya, 25, bought his Labubu from a Pop Mart store in Melbourne. (Supplied: Rome Viduya)
“Because they’re so sought after, in the aftermarket, [the price] easily skyrockets.
“They [resellers] were asking upwards of like $400 for one of the special boxes.”
As a result, he is taking extra steps to keep his Labubus safe from theft.
“I do unfortunately see the story of people getting their little Labubus cut right from their bags while they’re walking in the CBD,” he said.
“I have a couple of my special Labubus in plastic cases that I ordered online to make it a little more difficult to snatch.”