Pokémon card thieves ask staff for advice on which to steal during their robbery

[Coloroscopio]

Gotta steal ’em all? It seems these misguided individuals in Osaka should have asked Team Rocket to tag along on their heist at a Pokémon Trading Card Game store, where they made off with a haul worth approximately $70,000 on Monday, September 9.

 

The robbery took place around 3:30 AM as store employees were closing up for the night. Armed with what appeared to be a knife, the thieves tied up the staff and, weirdly enough, asked them which cards were the most valuable before proceeding with the crime.

 

Under duress, the employees complied, leading the thieves to select over 100 cards worth around 10 million yen (roughly US$70,000). The thieves also took the employees’ phones and wallets before making a clean getaway.

 

Owing to the rising value of Pokémon cards, there have been numerous high-profile thefts of the collectibles in recent years, including a half-a-million-dollar heist from a collector’s home in 2022. Even a police officer was fired in 2023 for attempting to steal and sell Pokémon cards.

 

The Osaka police are currently investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made yet.

 

• https://www.vice.com/en/article/pokemon-cards-stolen-japan/ 
• https://kotaku.com/pokemon-cards-robbery-crime-japan-valuable-thieves-70k-1851647292 
• https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240909/p2a/00m/0na/019000c 

 

 

Image: Tatiana Golmer | Dreamstime.com