US EditionPokémon cards are igniting an international crime spree
The boom has drawn smash-and-grab robberies and home burglaries, with more than $500,000 in cards stolen from shops this year, CNN reported.
- Collectible shops from Las Vegas and New York City to Vancouver, Canada, and Nottingham, England, reported a surge in robberies this year, with stolen Pokémon card merchandise totaling over $500,000.
- Values for Pokémon cards rose more than 145% over the past year, with buyers spending $450 million this January alone, according to trading card analytics website Card Ladder.
- Keith Wallis was arrested last month in Tallahassee, Florida, for 75 thefts at Targets from July 2025 to February 2026; he faces up to 90 years in prison on felony charges.
- Rising crime has made insurance companies reluctant to cover card shops; Andrew Engelbeck, owner of Next Level the Gamers Den, found only one company willing to insure his merchandise.
- Nick Jarman, CEO of the Certified Trading Card Association, states that "multi-generational demand" keeps the market refreshed, as adults who grew up with Pokémon continue collecting alongside younger players.
16 Articles
16 Articles
In the early morning hours of March 7, two thieves broke a vinyl-lined shop window in a Graham store in Washington. Alarms sounded as they filled several containers with stolen merchandise. In less than two minutes, they took almost $10,000 in products. The target: letters from Pokémon. It wasn’t the first time that the owner’s store Andrew Engelbeck, Next Level the Gamers Den, was assaulted by game collectible cards. It has happened several tim…
The National Police dismantles a Nordic criminal group that used collectible chromes to clean up illicit drug proceeds
The National Police dismantle a network that laundered money using Pokémon cards (Symbolic image - Generated by AI) AI Generated Stock Image The National Police have dismantled a criminal organization that laundered drug money by purchasing rare Pokémon cards. The operation by the Greco (Special Response Group against Organized Crime) resulted in arrests in both Marbella and Sweden, where some members of the gang resided. Greco investigators det…
The global rise of Pokémon cards has unleashed a wave of thefts in stores and private collections, with criminals managing to steal thousands of dollars worth of easily concealed and resold merchandise in a matter of minutes.
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