LOS ANGELES, 9 AUG

A group of masked thieves stole about $7,000 worth of Labubu dolls from a Los Angeles-area store earlier this week, authorities said.

The incident took place early Wednesday morning at a store in La Puente, a city about 29 kilometres east of Los Angeles, the LA County Sheriff's Department said. The department said the suspects used a stolen Toyota Tacoma in the incident, which was recovered shortly afterwards. The agency said it was investigating the case and did not have additional information.

The labubu, a toy created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, has become a popular collectable item a decade after the toothy monsters were first introduced.

Toy vendor One Stop Shop said in an Instagram post that the thieves “took all of our inventory and trashed our store.” The store posted surveillance footage showing a group of people wearing hoodies and face coverings breaking in. The suspects are seen shuffling through items and carrying boxes out of the shop.

“We are still in shock,” the store said in its post, urging people to help them find the thieves.