LONDON – When they came for the soft toys, Fiona Wallis was ready to play hardball.

Wallis, the owner of Snapdragon, a toy shop in southwest London, wasn’t completely surprised on a recent Thursday when two thieves entered and immediately grabbed armloads of Jellycat figures, posh little British plush toys that have exploded in value as viral collectibles online.

Jellycat heists have plagued shopkeepers around the United Kingdom for months. Security cameras have caught shoplifters stuffing bunnies down trousers, bears under blouses and hedgehogs into baby strollers.

In Cheddar, near Bristol, two thieves backed their car through a glass door before filling the trunk with an estimated $27,000 worth of Jellycat rabbits and other pricey figures.

“It has gotten beyond insane,” said a London

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