A trio of theft suspects are on the run after being caught stealing more than 35,000 Pokémon cards in a spectacular heist.
Crimes related to Pokémon cards have become increasingly common, with many stores and individual players being targeted by criminals.
The latest incident comes from San Jose, California, where three thieves broke into Tofu’s Trading on January 24 and made off with a massive haul, stealing thousands of dollars worth of Pokémon TCG trading cards.
Luckily for Team Rocket wannabes, the alarm didn’t go off due to faulty motion detectors, according to store manager Amy Simpson.
Thieves steal 35,000 Pokémon cards in wild video
In an Instagram post, Tofu’s Trading uploaded security footage of the burglary, edited to add humor to the situation with comical sound effects.
Security cameras show the thieves on their knees, crawling around after entering the store before grabbing everything available, including cards and even the cash register.
“We saw like three people breaking in through our side door, which was a little ridiculous, because there’s a refrigerator blocking it — so I don’t think it was a targeted attack at all,” Simpson said at ABC. “I don’t think they were really into the hobby, because they didn’t know what to get.”
The store is urging other local businesses to remain vigilant in case their products appear with the stolen items, including: 35,000 Pokémon cards, hits, 1,000 Weiss Schwarz promos, XY Evolution booster boxes, 500 card sleeves, a Square cash register and Magic the Gathering collectible booster packs.
Although police arrived, the thieves were quick and escaped before officers arrived.
This isn’t the first time this year that a card store has been hit by thieves. Earlier, a Pokémon card collector was in tears after thieves stole his $200,000 collection. Additionally, Van Gogh Museum employees were suspended after stealing cards during the Pokémon Expo.
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