Chilling rise of Jellycat gangs – how toys sparked...

SLYLY stuffing the teddies in a child's pram and handing others to children she had with her, no one suspected a thing when Ruby Smith walked out of the garden centre. Using the cover of kids, the 35-year-old had managed to steal more than £1,600 worth of Jellycats from Bressingham Garden Centre near Diss, Norfolk, tricking people into thinking she was a regular mum on a shopping trip.

Image Credit: The Sun [Woman in black coat and leggings arriving at Norwich Magistrates Court.]

Just weeks later she carried out a similar raid netting £1,679 worth of Jellycats and a third which netted her toys worth £512 - all of which were caught on CCTV. She was jailed for six months suspended for two years at Norwich Magistrates’ Court in December after she admitted targeting three Norfolk garden centres a total of seven times in three months last year - making off with Jellycats worth over £4,000.

Image Credit: The Sun [CCTV footage of a person bending over a stroller in a garden center.]

Shockingly Smith's crimes are not the unique as the craze for the adorable soft toys has led to a Jellycat crime wave across the UK with shoplifters and scammers targeting the collectibles. Garden centres and shops up and down the country have repeatedly had stocks of Jellycat teddies stolen in recent months.

Image Credit: The Sun [Collage of seized Jellycat toys.]

Charlie Groves, 46, who owns Groves Nurseries in Bridport, Dorset, told in December how he saw a woman stuffing Jellycats worth £400 into a pram carrying a child when he checked his CCTV. In a separate case, Robert Thornton, 42, was jailed for 21 months at Teeside Crown Court in August last year for a series of thefts including a raid on an independent art shop in Darlington where he smashed a window with a sledgehammer and escaped with nine Jellycats.

Image Credit: The Sun [Portrait of a young woman with long black hair.]

Why are these toys so desirable? Here we dive into the cute and cuddly world of the Jellycat-obsessed - and the dark criminal underworld which is targeting them with scams, stolen or fake goods and even death threats. Collectors have been known to pay thousands for rare or “retired” Jellycats – which come in endless varieties from cute bunnies to fried eggs and even toilet rolls, each with adorable names such as Fuddlewuddle Lamb and Bashful Bunny.

Image Credit: The Sun [Two Jellycat dragons; one light blue, one black.]

A quick search on eBay reveals more than 25,000 Jellycats for sale with the most expensive listed at £23,799 for a "Jellycat Small Bashful Llama" described as "Rare And Retired New Without tags". On Vinted, one seller has a collection of around 20 Jellycats on offer for £10,000 - which despite its hefty price tag has still had over 2000 views.

Image Credit: The Sun [Woman surrounded by Jellycat stuffed toys.]

It’s this huge popularity and high resale value which has made Jellycat collectors easy prey for criminal gangs running scams and unscrupulous firms making counterfeit “Jellies”. Lell Williamson, 27, fell victim to a scam after buying what she thought was a Sky Dragon Jellycat for £50 from a website called the Luxx Collective.

Image Credit: The Sun [Rainbow tie-dye stuffed bunny sitting on a planter.]

“Their website is very convincing, with real photos, reviews, and it’s beautifully laid out,” Lell, an operations supervisor from Norwich, told The Sun. “At the time of purchase I was a new Jellycat collector and didn't know about 'rare' and 'retired' items so just assumed they had stock readily available.

Image Credit: The Sun [Three-tiered plant stand holding various potted plants and stuffed toys.]

“When the item had been dispatched I quickly realised that the shipping origin was coming from China which rung alarm bells immediately. "I only then did my due diligence of checking the legitimacy of the website and quickly realised they're a scam site which sell fake goods.

Image Credit: The Sun [Portrait of a young woman with long, bright red hair.]

“I contacted my bank who advised that I either need to wait 15 days from purchase or when an item arrives, whichever soonest, to open a charge back claim.”. Lell was stunned when the soft toy arrived and she could barely tell the difference between it and an official Jellycat – with even the label and tags looking almost identical.

Image Credit: The Sun [Tattoo of a donut wearing sunglasses.]

“A £50 teddy that’s close to the faces of babies that was made God knows where with God knows what is quite frightening. “It was quite an eye opener actually the lengths these companies are going to make the item look as similar as possible and had this been a gift I wouldn't have even questioned its legitimacy honestly," Lell said.

Image Credit: The Sun [Tattoo of a mummy-like figure on a person's arm.]

“It’s why I'm very wary of buying Jellycats second-hand because there are plenty of fakes, some better than others and unfortunately they can cost over the odds of what the real item would have cost in the first place as the second-hand market for jellies is huge and people pay three, four, five times the retail price of these.

Image Credit: The Sun [Pile of Jellycat stuffed bunnies in various pastel colors.]

“To a 'professional' collector they can probably tell right away, some people are like bloodhounds sniffing out fakes. But casual or new collectors probably wouldn't be able to tell. Lell, who received a refund from her bank for the £50 after official manufacturers Jellycat London confirmed Luxx Collective was not a licensed seller, said it was worrying that fake toys, which may not have been subjected to rigorous safety testing could end up with babies and children.

“A £50 teddy that’s close to the faces of babies, made God knows where with God knows what, is quite frightening,” she added. “A lot of adults obviously buy for children, and you can’t guarantee the fake one has been through testing and it states CE on the label - so potentially it could be harmful for a child.".