Walsall council says fake Labubu toys seized posed choking risks

Walsall Council said more than 500 counterfeit toys taken from three borough shops failed safety testing, and fake Labubu dolls were among the worst finds. Some of the Labubu knockoffs had small parts that detached during use, creating a choking risk for children under 36 months, while chemical testing found excessive levels of phthalates in some of the goods.

The haul came out of a joint operation by Walsall Council Trading Standards officers and West Midlands Police in September 2025, but the safety results were only confirmed later by laboratory testing. The seizure also included counterfeit Hello Kitty, Disney, Bluey, Super Mario and Louis Vuitton items, underscoring how widely the fake goods market has spread across the toy and collectibles space.

Walsall later said the September operation was part of Operation Thundercats and that officers seized more than 800 counterfeit items with an estimated value of £7,000 on Wednesday 24 September. The same stores had already been hit in an August crackdown, when £2,000 worth of counterfeit toys was removed after warning visits. The businesses involved have not been named while investigations continue, and the council said the seized items will be destroyed.

For Labubu buyers and parents, the warning signs are now plain. Tiny detachable parts, loose stitching, exposed stuffing, sloppy paintwork and missing compliance marks all matter. A genuine toy should carry the correct CE or UKCA marking, importer details and the required safety warnings; if those details are missing, the item should be treated as suspect. The stronger the collectible demand, the more closely counterfeit sellers copy the real thing, which is why a shelf display or online listing can look convincing right up until the packaging gives itself away.

The Walsall case fits a wider UK pattern that trading standards teams have been flagging through 2025. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute warned in August that fake Labubu dolls were flooding the market, with thousands seized in multiple parts of the country. Later that year, the Intellectual Property Office said 259,000 fake toys worth more than £3.5 million had been seized at the UK border, and 90% of them were counterfeit Labubu dolls. In Walsall, the message is immediate and practical: if a Labubu looks rough, lacks the right labels or has parts that pull free too easily, it is not just lower quality, it may be unsafe.