Shanghai police bust gang making, selling fake Labubus worth $1.7mln
Made by Beijing-based toymaker Pop Mart, Labubu dolls have become a must-have item internationally, adorning the handbags of celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa.
The furry, fanged creatures, which typically sell for around $40, are released in limited quantities and have caused frenzies at stores around the world.
Knock-offs -- many of which are also made in China -- have flooded online platforms, dubbed 'Lafufus' by social media users.
The Shanghai bust in early July uncovered 12-million-yuan ($1.7-million) worth of fake Pop Mart toys, state-run Shanghai Daily reported late Tuesday.
Pop Mart notified police when a customer reported that one purchased online was in fact fake.
This led to the discovery of an online store that sold fans, speakers and gaming consoles -- but was also a front for selling the counterfeits.
Police raided a warehouse, detaining eight people and the 5,000 toys, complete with forged trademarks and fake anti-counterfeit stickers, the report said.
It is not the first time the fluffy monsters have been associated with crime.
In Singapore, CCTV footage captured a family stealing Labubu dolls from a claw machine last year, according to online media outlet AsiaOne.
And in June, burglars broke into a store in California and took several Labubu dolls along with electronics and other valuables, US news outlet ABC reported.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistani opposition alliance says government trying to ‘eliminate' rivals, calls for joint strategy
ISLAMABAD: A coalition of prominent Pakistani opposition leaders on Friday called for a unified political strategy to address what they described as a systematic effort to eliminate dissent, condemning recent convictions related to the May 9, 2023, riots and rejecting the legitimacy of the 2024 general elections. The two-day multiparty conference was convened by the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) — or Movement for the Protection of Pakistan's Constitution — a newly formed alliance of politicians, lawyers and civil society leaders advocating for constitutional supremacy and civilian rule. Established earlier this year, TTAP is chaired by veteran Pashtun leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai and held its gathering in Islamabad at the residence of former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who said the capital administration had attempted to block the event by sealing off its original venue. 'There is a clear attempt to eliminate the opposition in this country,' Khokhar said toward the end of the gathering, adding: 'All parties at the conference unanimously agreed that a comprehensive and joint strategy is urgently needed to steer the country out of this crisis.' The conference condemned the convictions handed down to the leaders and supporters of the country's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party over their alleged role in the May 9 unrest. The protests, triggered by Khan's brief detention by paramilitary rangers on corruption charges, turned violent, with attacks on military installations across the country. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan convicted the leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate on charges of being involved in the unrest, though the PTI has frequently described such cases and convictions as politically motivated. The government, however, said all those who were sentenced were given fair trials within the legal and constitutional framework. 'Fair trials were conducted in the May 9 cases in accordance with the law,' Information Minister Ata Tarar asserted in a televised statement following the opposition alliance's news conference. 'The proceedings lasted two full years, during which the prosecution presented its arguments and evidence.' The multiparty conference participants also denounced the imprisonment of Khan and his wife, Bushra Imran, and demanded their immediate release. The declaration agreed at the gathering also accused the government of 'fascism and political victimization' and rejected the outcome of the 2024 elections as fraudulent. It also called for repealing the 26th Amendment, which curtailed judicial autonomy by expanding parliamentary oversight of appointments, saying it had undermined judicial independence in Pakistan, and expressed solidarity with six Islamabad High Court judges who had spoken out against institutional interference. Tarar, however, dismissed the opposition's assertions, saying the participants of the conference 'had neither arguments nor facts.' 'Whenever a foreign visit to Pakistan is about to begin, especially by a foreign head of state, such actions are taken to sabotage it and damage the country's economy,' he added, noting that the conference came just ahead of the Iranian president's visit to Pakistan on Saturday.
Asharq Al-Awsat
13 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
South Korea's Yoon Resists Questioning by Lying in Underwear
South Korea's impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol lay on his prison cell floor in his underwear to resist attempts to interrogate him, prosecutors said Friday. Prosecutors obtained a fresh arrest warrant on Thursday to forcibly bring the former leader in for questioning over allegations of election tampering. However, they were "unable to do so due to his strong refusal", prosecutor Oh Jeong-hee told reporters. "The suspect refused arrest while lying on the floor without wearing his prison-issued clothing," she said. "Due to concerns over safety incidents, physical force was withheld, and the execution of the warrant was temporarily suspended'. Yoon was wearing "a sleeveless top and prison-issued briefs," prosecutors said, calling it the "most appropriate way" to describe his attire given the "serious nature of the situation". There was no information on the color of his underclothing, they added. Prosecutors informed Yoon they would have to carry out physical force if necessary in the next attempt, said AFP. Yoon was arrested after he tried to impose martial law on December 3, sending troops to parliament to prevent lawmakers from voting down his declaration and plunging the country into political turmoil. He faces a litany of charges, from insurrection to election tampering, but has refused multiple times to appear at his summons. Yoon's legal team said the prosecutors had shown a "disturbing disregard" for "basic human decency". "The special counsel turned what should have been a press briefing into a stage for personal humiliation," Yoon's lawyer Yoo Jeong-hwa told AFP. "What kind of legal institution in a civilized country gives a real-time report and commentary to journalists on a detainee's clothing, especially in a cramped cell nearing 40 degrees (Celsius) (104 degrees Fahrenheit)?" Yoon's lawyers said the former president suffers from "several underlying conditions that pose significant challenges to maintaining his health", making it difficult for him to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Attacker wounds Japanese national in China with rock: Tokyo embassy
An 'unknown assailant' attacked and wounded a Japanese national accompanied by a child in the Chinese city of Suzhou, Tokyo's embassy said Friday, calling on Beijing to prevent such incidents. The incident comes a year after a Japanese mother and child were wounded in a knife attack in the same city. A Chinese woman had died trying to stop the assailant. In Thursday's attack, 'a Japanese national walking with a child was struck by what appeared to be a rock by an unknown assailant inside a Suzhou, Jiangsu Province subway station,' Tokyo's embassy in Beijing told AFP in a statement. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry told AFP that 'the suspect has been apprehended.' The victim was 'promptly taken to hospital for treatment, and there is no threat to life,' the ministry said. China and Japan are key trading partners, but increased friction over territorial rivalries and military spending has frayed ties in recent years. Japan's brutal occupation of parts of China before and during World War II remains a sore point, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to atone for its past. In June last year, a Japanese mother and child were attacked in Suzhou on the anniversary of the 1931 'Mukden incident,' known in China as a day of national humiliation. The 1931 explosion of a railway in China was used by Japanese soldiers as a pretext to occupy the city of Mukden, now called Shenyang, and invade the wider region of Manchuria. And in September, a Japanese schoolboy was fatally stabbed in the southern city of Shenzhen. Media reports about the latest attack in Suzhou were censored on the Chinese messaging app WeChat. 'The Japanese government has urged the Chinese government to… severely punish the suspect, prevent similar incidents, and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals,' Tokyo's embassy said Friday. Beijing's foreign ministry said 'China will continue to take effective steps, to protect the safety of foreigners in China.'
