Summary
An entire cash register plus tens of thousands ofPokemonTrading Cards were stolen after three thieves stormed into Tofu’s Trading, a small store located in San Jose, California. Tofu’s Trading specializes in selling TCG merchandise of popular franchises such asYu-Gi-OhandPokemon.
ThePokemon TCGoriginated in Japan in 1996, a few months after the firstPokemongames,GreenandRed, were released on the market. ThePokemon Trading Card Gameenjoyed a huge level of success with many fans being tremendously entertained by collecting and stockpiling flashyPokemon-themed cards. A few decades later,certainPokemoncards had increased in valueand were worth a massive amount of money on the market, as many card hunters sought out the rarestPokemoncards. With the value of the cards being worth thousands of dollars, finding a rare card could quite literally make collectors rich. Unfortunately, this increase in value means that some card sellers are targeted by robbers seeking to make unlawful profits, as was the case for Tofu’s Trading.
ABC7 News reportedthat three burglars broke into Tofu’s Trading in the middle of the night, and managed to run off with no less than 35,000PokemonTrading Cards of different values, as well as a full cash register. Amy Simpson, the manager of the store, claimed that the robbery was made possible by defective motion detectors that failed to trigger the alarm system. Even though the San Jose police did not manage to capture the shoplifters in time, security cameras successfully recorded the break-in. In the video footage that was posted on Twitter, the suspects can be seen crawling on all fours on the store’s floor before quicklysnatching thePokemonmerchandise.
The Pokemon TCG Thieves Were Captured by Video Surveillance Cameras
According to Simpson, the criminals were not experts onthePokemon TCGmarketas they omitted the more valuable merchandise pieces. That being said, a special set ofPokemoncards was slated to arrive at Tofu’s Trading just two days after the burglary. This and the fact that the thieves weren’t aware of the store’s layout made the manager think that this was not a targeted attack. The total cost of the stolen merchandise is not yet known.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time aPokemontrading card store has been the victim of theft. In 2023, a trio ofrobbers allegedly stole $1 million worth ofPokemonitemsfrom another hobby store in California. Incidents like these serve as a reminder for store owners to double up on their security measures.
Pokemon TCG
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a collectible and strategy based card game based on Nintendo’s Pokemon franchise. Two players face off against one another, battling one Pokemon at a time and attempting to knock them out to claim one of six prize cards. The cards have also become highly collectible with some in particular selling for thousands of dollars.
