Southern California police arrested a Los Angeles man suspected of replacing pieces of LEGOs with dried pasta at 70 Target stores nationwide.

Irvine Police Department arrested Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, California, on suspicion of grand theft. He was booked at the Orange County Jail, according to the department’s statement on Facebook.

Police say Augustine allegedly removed valuable mini figures and pieces from LEGO sets purchased at Target and, in some cases, replaced them with the pasta before returning the boxes to the store.

“You read that correctly, we are talking about durum wheat semolina pasta, and what we are calling a pasta-tively terrible plan,” Irvine Police Department posted.

Target Corporation reported at least 70 thefts nationwide were tied to the same suspect, according to the police department. The estimated losses are about $34,000.

“If your master plan involves swapping LEGOs for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente,” Irvine Police Department said.

Irvine detectives were called to a Target store to investigate the case. Body-worn camera video footage posted online showed officers arresting Augustine outside the store.

The officers also showed neatly organized LEGO pieces in plastic bins and pasta packages.

A surveillance video inside Target shows a man taking LEGO boxes off of a shelf and walking out of the store.

Target Corporation did not return a request for comment about the arrest.

In another incident last month in central California, Kern County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped two box trucks, which led them to freight trailers labeled as Amazon Prime deliveries with about $1 million worth of LEGO products inside.

Investigators confirmed the trailers were stolen while in transit from Fort Worth, Texas, to Moreno Valley, California. Jose Lopez, 37, of San Bernardino; Ruben Lopez Flores, 25, of Los Angeles; and Freddy Hernandez Polinar, 35, of Chino, were arrested in connection to the cargo theft, according to Kern County Sheriff’s Office.

Kern County Sheriff's Office in California discovered about $1 million worth of LEGO products inside two stolen trailers April 8, 2026. (Kern County Sheriff's Office)

In October, in Santa Rosa, California, police detectives arrested a suspect in an organized retail theft operation allegedly connected to stealing expensive LEGO sets from Target and Walmart stores.

Robert Lopez, 39, of Lake County, was allegedly directing others to steal the sets and purchase the stolen property at a reduced price to resell the sets and individual figurines at inflated prices, according to police.

A search of Lopez’s home uncovered tens of thousands of LEGO pieces and unopened sets, detectives reported.

In Watauga, Texas, police arrested Winston Love, 28, on Oct, 31, on suspicion of felony theft. Love is suspected of committing 23 thefts from Target stores across multiple Texas cities of over $37,000 worth of LEGO merchandise as part of an organized retail theft ring in Texas and Oklahoma.