Collectibles can be worth a lot of money. That's why it's becoming increasingly common for criminals to target businesses that sell Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering cards, to name a few examples. Unfortunately, thieves targeted a store and made off with quite a haul.
According to local reports, Tofu's Trading, based in San Jose, California, fell victim to a robbery on January 24, 2024. The incident occurred at 2:00 AM, when a group of thieves broke into the premises to steal the cash register and highly valuable merchandise.
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Criminals Steal Thousands of Pokémon Cards
Amy Simpson, the store owner, shared videos captured by the security cameras at the crime scene. In statements to ABC7 News, she explained that the motion detectors were faulty, so the alarm didn't sound when the criminals entered the premises.
Although the police responded to the call and arrived at the store, it was already too late. The thieves managed to leave the store with the stolen merchandise.
According to the victims, the criminals took more than 35,000 Pokémon cards, ranging in value from $1 USD to hundreds of dollars. They also stole the store's cash register, Magic: The Gathering packs, and card sleeves priced between $15 USD and $30 USD.
It seems that the crime was not a direct attack on the store, as Amy Simpson explained that, according to the security videos, the suspects "didn't know what to take."
Despite the unfortunate situation, the victims didn't miss the opportunity to mock the criminals. They edited the security camera videos, added sound effects, and shared them on social media.
“We have a sense of humor, so it was really silly to watch them crawl around. We also like to take a bad situation and find a little bit of humor in it. There's not much we can do now, so there's no point in getting depressed. The video might make people laugh,” said Ann Ma, operations manager at Tofu's Trading.
STOLEN POKEMON: A collectable trading card store in San Jose is sharing surveillance video of their break-in from Wednesday. More than 35,000 Pokémon cards were taken. @tofustrading edited the video to take this bad time & find a little humor in it. 1/2@abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/OUZyTFuXXp
— LaurenABC7 (@LaurenABC7) January 26, 2024
Similarly, the affected individuals made fun of the timeline of events. Only 2 days after the robbery, the Paldean Fates expansion was released, a set featuring 240 new cards. Thus, the victims joke that the criminals missed the chance to grab a good haul.
“A lot of things were released this week, and we thought it was funny. We said, ‘Oh, these people don't realize it's released on Friday, not Wednesday at 2:00 AM,’” said Amy Simpson.
But tell us, what do you think of this curious incident? Do you know of any similar cases? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments.
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