Getting a standard definition of “illicit” is not world-changing, but it can contribute to more clarity in food fraud prevention. This clarity can help teams who are working on projects or when you are communicating with your company, industry, or government. Help by completing our 10-question survey.
Survey on the Use of the Term “Illicit” : for activities such as manufacturing, the markets where products are distributed, the products themselves, and the overall trade. The survey was sparked after we read an April 11, 2026, article about “Illicit LEGO” product (see the resource list below for the article).
SURVEY:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/IllicitV3Lego
Are these stolen goods now illicit Legos? Are they illegal? Would buying a suspicious LEGO product be an illicit activity? If you bought them, would you be a criminal?
Our food fraud prevention research began with foundational work on terms and definitions. Our first major publication in 2011 was “Defining the Public Health Threat of Food Fraud”. That publication is the most widely cited definition and reference for the food fraud term. Understanding how problems are presented and getting consensus on which terms authors use reduces confusion. Prior publications provided scholarly definitions of food fraud, dietary supplement fraud, and types of counterfeiting.
One of four current projects is researching the term “illicit,” as it is applied to illicit trade, illicit markets, illicit behavior, illicit trafficking, illicit smuggling, illicit processing, and illicit products. Last week, we noticed a New York Times article that referred to “illicit” product in the title (April 11, 2026, “The Case of the Illicit Lego: 3 Men Arrested in $1 Million Theft”). We added a LEGO scenario to our new ten-question research survey:
Illicit LEGO Article (April 11, 2026)
A New York Times article reported on a surge in LEGO toy brick product theft driven by the brand’s high resale value, describing organized retail crime networks, cargo heists, theft rings, and the role of collectible demand in fueling opportunistic criminal activity. Reporting spans local arrests, organized fencing operations, and broader economic context, highlighting how scarcity, portability, and resale ease make Lego products attractive criminal targets.
The four attached articles include: a 2024 Los Angeles retail theft case, a 2025 California theft ring investigation, a 2025 black-market analysis, and a 2026 $1 million cargo theft arrest, illustrating escalation and diversification. The most recent article, published on April 11, 2026, had an initial title of “The Case of the Illicit Lego: 3 Men Arrested in $1 Million Theft”. As applied to this research on the use of the term “illicit,” it is interesting to note that later the article title was changed to “3 Men Are Arrested in $1 Million Lego Theft in California.”
The headline terms apparently evolved through a common journalism practice that is referred to as A/B testing. A/B testing is a method where two (or more) versions of something—often a headline, webpage, or message—are shown to different audiences to see which performs better. This reflects editorial optimization for clarity, searchability, and audience engagement, shifting from provocative or ambiguous terms toward straightforward descriptions of criminal activity and value. The version that performs better becomes the final or dominant headline. (Note [1]: See link below for a blog post that also identified this type of article title change.)
We used the LEGO scenario to add an application to our new ten-question research survey.
Article’s Use of “illicit/illegal/theft/stolen”
The four articles overwhelmingly use “stolen” and “theft,” with “illicit” only used in the original version of one title. Language emphasizes concrete criminal acts—cargo theft, organized retail theft, possession of stolen goods—rather than abstract illegality or broader illicit market framing. Terminology aligns with law enforcement narratives and prosecutable offenses, reinforcing clarity and specificity over conceptual or academic labels.
In the Lego case, “illicit” vs. “theft” wording likely reflects this process—testing which phrasing attracts more engagement or adds clarity. Headlines favor “theft,” “thieves,” and “black market,” with “illicit” appearing mainly in early or A/B-tested versions, then softened to clearer, more direct crime-focused phrasing in final published titles.
Research on the “Illicit Trade” Term
We’ve been conducting a wide range of research projects on food fraud prevention-related topics. A key focus of our research and publications has been defining and refining work processes, which includes an acute need to have clarity on scope, deliverables, and, thus, even clarity on the most basic terms. Over time, we kept seeing the term “illicit” used, but often in many different ways, and sometimes used interchangeably in the same reports with terms such as illegal, unauthorized, unethical, or contraband. Sometimes, in a report on something like “illicit trade”, we found that “illicit” was only used in the title. Also, in most situations, it was often not explicitly defined.
We spent a lot of time reviewing how the term was used in government or industry reports, as well as definitions in authoritative sources such as the International Standards Organization (ISO). We were at the research stage where we were consolidating the findings. We were at a point where we needed to start making decisions
- Q: How to be analytical without inserting our bias or opinion? A: Survey practitioners.
- Q: How to ask the questions so they would provide the required granularity, yet be approachable (and a little entertainment value provides motivation)? A: Use an illicit LEGO incident.
Survey on use of the term “Illicit”
Our survey has expanded from five academic questions to include five using LEGO examples to understand the use in practice.
Takeaway Points:
- Stay tuned for our update: As always, we will publish our preliminary findings here in a blog while we pursue a scholarly journal publication.
- “Everyone knows what that word means.” Really? “Common sense is not so common” (often attributed to Voltaire). So, let’s check!
- Take a simple step to contribute to the research by taking the ten-question survey: <LINK>: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/IllicitV3Lego
AI Use Disclosure: The idea and conceptual design were generated by the author based on previous experience and during regular news updates. Generative AI was used to support the author in research, reviews, and editing, in addition to approximately three hours of manual researching, reviewing, and editing. Project support was provided from ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Nano Banana, and Grammarly.
Resources:
3 Men Are Arrested in $1 Million Lego Theft in California (Previous title: The Case of the Illicit Lego: 3 Men Arrested in $1 Million Theft), 4/11/2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/us/california-lego-heist-arrest.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Thieves Stole Thousands of Lego Sets in L.A., Police Say, 6/7/2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/us/stolen-legos-lapd-arrested.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Police Break Up Lego Theft Ring, Recovering Hundreds of Beheaded Figurines, 10/18/2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/lego-theft-california-arrest.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Worth Thousands on the Black Market, Lego Kits Are Now a Target of Thieves, 4/14/2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/business/lego-minifigures-black-market.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Note [1]: Blog post, “Reported ‘Counterfeit Titanium’ in Boeing Aircraft: Application to Food Fraud.” Update June 24, 2024 – The news publisher updated the article title wording from ‘Counterfeit Titanium’ to ‘Questionable Titanium.’ There were no other changes to the article other than adding a generic comment from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. https://blog.foodfraudpreventionthinktank.com/reported-counterfeit-titanium-in-boeing-aircraft-application-to-food-fraud/
Images: Generated by Nano Banana/ Gemini generated by Spink, 2026