Fake Labubu dolls flood the UK market, raising urgent safety warnings and concerns about counterfeit crime. At an industrial estate near London, police vans and lorries block the area to seize thousands of counterfeit toys.
Officers found secret rooms above a retail outlet stacked with illegal products, including massive amounts of fake Labubu dolls. These dolls fuel a global craze sparked by TikTok, and they helped the parent company double its revenue to £1.33 billion last year.
Children and adults rush to get authentic dolls; often, they queue for hours or travel far. However, scalpers buy hundreds of dolls to resell at inflated prices, flooding the market with counterfeits.
Moreover, border authorities recently seized hundreds of thousands of fake dolls entering UK ports. Trading Standards traced the dolls from a corner shop nearly 200 miles away to the London warehouse. Rhys Harries from Trading Standards said many fakes fall apart quickly. “Heads come off, feet pull off,” he explained.
His team uses a plastic tube shaped like a child’s throat to test choking risks. Many fake parts fit inside, causing hazards. Jade, a mother from Caerphilly, bought knock-offs for her son’s birthday. Unfortunately, the keyring fell off during play, almost causing choking. Luckily, her son told her in time. Nevertheless, she warned younger children might not be so lucky.
Experts say criminals use toxic plastics and banned chemicals in counterfeit toys. Kate Caffery, a law enforcement official, said criminals rush to profit from trends with no concern for safety. She also stressed the fakes do not come from the same factories as real dolls and can be made from anything.
Most fake Labubu dolls come from China, Hong Kong, or Turkey. Therefore, buyers should watch for suspiciously low prices or flimsy packaging. Collector Meg Goldberger owns 12 authentic Labubus but struggled to find them. She waited hours for online sales that sell out instantly.
Later, she bought from resellers but noticed bulk orders, revealing bots hoard stock. At the London site, officers are storing seized fake Labubu dolls as evidence. “These went nationwide,” Harries said. “Consequently, it’s a serious UK-wide problem.” So far, the parent company has not commented on the issue.
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