Pokemon card thieves get away with millions
Pokemon / @Highlight_PokePokemon card thieves got away with over $140,000 in Pokemon cards and sealed products from a Tokyo card store, adding to the long string of card shop robberies.
Trading Card Highlight, based in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, specializes in selling PSA-graded and slabbed Pokemon cards as well as some of the rarest sealed Pokemon TCG products. The store estimates the thieves stole over 20 million yen, or approximately $141,000 in goods, on December 10.
Store employee Aoi Ikeyare recalls trying to put “the expensive cards in the safe,” but they wouldn’t fit, so they left them in the glass showcase — a move that would prove costly.
Pokemon card thieves take over $141,000 in Pokemon cards
Trading Card Highlight posted security footage on X, which shows how the thief smashed, grabbed, and plundered at least 300 Pokemon cards from the shelves.
In what appears to be an orchestrated plot worthy of Team Rocket, the thieves ignored the in-store security system while filling their backpacks with cards.
A thief is heard shouting, “You have one minute left!” before hurrying to get away. Tokyo police arrived at the scene in minutes, but by then the thieves had blasted off.
This marks another high-value Pokemon card shop robbery in Tokyo, which has surged due to rising Pokemon TCG card prices and the popularity of Japanese cards among foreigners.
As well as this, Pokemon card shops assemble custom-made and sealed ‘lottery packs’, which makes them tantalizing for Trainers looking to pull expensive cards. The store plans to resume business as soon as possible and has already filed a police report and damage reports.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun Press, Nintendo and flea market app Mercari “signed a comprehensive agreement with Nintendo Co. affiliate Pokemon Co. in June,” which could lead to further regulation and the removal of stolen cards from the market.
There is, however, little chance of recovering the cards sold at other flea markets and online distributors.
