Retailers say highly sought-after pop culture items are flying off the shelves with a rise in thefts targeting both Labubu dolls and Pokemon merchandise.

Victorian Police on Tuesday uncovered dozens of rare and valuable Labubu dolls, worth around $9000 in total, from a home in Melbourne’s north-west.

In a statement titled “These Labubu are not for you you”, they said some of the dolls were limited-edition and valued at $500 each.

Labubu dolls, typically retailing for $32 and produced by Chinese toy company Pop Mart, have surged in popularity, sparking buying frenzies worldwide over the past six months.

At least 43 dolls were allegedly stolen since July during four separate burglaries at a store in Melbourne’s CBD.

A 40-year-old man was arrested and has since been charged with four counts of burglary and two counts of theft.

The news didn’t come as a surprise to Lucas Hipkins, who owns four game stores across city suburbs.

He said the industry has seen a rise in thefts involving trading cards, with in-demand and limited-supply items being prime targets.

“The price is going up because there’s not a lot of stock in the country, and everybody wants it … a lot of these products have come in very short supply,” the Mind Games owner told AAP.

“It’s a high commodity item and it’s easy to sell. Trading cards and pop culture items, there’s enough of them out there and they all look the same. It’s a really easy turnaround.”

Retail theft rose 27.6 per cent in Victoria over the year to June and there were 595,660 victims of theft nationally, a 21-year high.

Hipkins said offenders were becoming more brazen, with one man reportedly walking into a Northcote store earlier this month and attempting to flee with a Lego set.

The set was sitting on top of the counter, next to a worker.

“We are definitely noticing more theft during the day when we’re open,” Hipkins said.

“Although we have had overnight break-ins, where people have smashed our door and tried to clear the shelves, which hasn’t really happened in our industry before.”

The store owner has since added extra security measures, including magnetic door locks that allow staff to control entry and exit.

“We have definitely had to up our security, but I certainly don’t see it getting better anytime soon,” Hipkins said.

–AAP