Pokemon Crime Strikes as Card Store Loses $70,000 of Goods in Armed Robbery

The rising value of Pokemon trading cards has turned the hobby into a high risk.

By Megan Peters

Back in the day, you might have overlooked the work Office Jenny did in Pokemon, but that is not the case these days. The police had little to worry about with Pokemon save for an errand Team Rocket mission for decades. Now, there is a very real rise in Pokemon crime. If you have paid any attention to the headlines as of late, Pokemon goods are at a premium these days, and thieves have taken note. So when a new report told fans $70,000 USD of Pokemon cards were stolen, no one was surprised.

The report cropped up from NHK, a prominent news network in Japan. It was there the station confirmed an armed robbery had taken place in Osaka at a hobby shop dedicated to Pokemon cards. Earlier this week, two employees at a Pokemon card shop were wrapping up work at 3:30 am JST when two thieves broke into the building. The pair were armed, and after tying up the workers, they demanded a ton of Pokemon cards.

What Was This Pokemon Crime All About?

According to the police report, the thieves were not very educated on their mark. The thieves knew the store had valuable trading cards, but they could not determine the good collectibles from the bad ones. As such, one thief demanded the workers tell them which cards were the expensive ones. So yeah, never let anyone tell you criminals are geniuses.

The thieves went on to pilfer over 100 cards before fleeing the scene. The workers tallied the damages and told police about 10 million yen in value had been stolen. That total equates to about $70,000 USD, and that is just from the cards. The robbers also took the workers' phones and 250,000 yen in cash.

A Recent Rise in Pokemon Crime

As you can imagine, this crime left the shop employees frightened, and they are not the only ones to be targeted by such a theft as of late. In 2020, the secondhand market saw a sharp increase in interest where Pokemon cards were concerned. From old-school rarities to newer chases, Pokemon cards became a hot topic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pokemon Company struggled to keep up with the demand, leaving many stores to lock up card sets due to rampant shoplifting. Massive chains like Target and Walmart were forced to set sale limits for Pokemon cards. And as this frenzy continued, the global craze caught the interest of petty thieves and seasoned criminals.

As such, a rise in Pokemon heists has been noted since 2021. In Japan, some major cases have hit headlines. Back in 2023, a 35-year-old man from Okinawa from arrested for stealing 1,500 Pokemon cards from a shop in Tokyo. In 2022, a thief in the United States targeted a hobby store for its Pokemon cards and broke into the shop by tunneling through the building. No, seriously – the thief bypassed the security system by tunneling into the store's wall. They escaped with nearly $300,000 USD of stock, and these headlines are just a few examples of the overall issue.

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While an increase in card printing has eased the TCG frenzy, there is still a lot of money in Pokemon. From rare trading cards to high-end collectibles, the franchise is tied to a ton of cash. So rather than rubies and diamonds, it seems some thieves are more interested in booster packs nowadays.

What do you think about this rise in Pokemon crime? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

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