An entire cash register plus tens of thousands of Pokemon Trading 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 as Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon.

The Pokemon TCG originated in Japan in 1996, a few months after the first Pokemon games, Green and Red, were released on the market. The Pokemon Trading Card Game enjoyed a huge level of success with many fans being tremendously entertained by collecting and stockpiling flashy Pokemon-themed cards. A few decades later, certain Pokemon cards had increased in value and were worth a massive amount of money on the market, as many card hunters sought out the rarest Pokemon cards. 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.

Related

Pokemon Card Theft Lands Prison Guard in Jail

A US-based prison guard ends up in jail over the theft of some Pokemon cards that local authorities described as a 'great embarrassment.'

ABC7 News reported that three burglars broke into Tofu’s Trading in the middle of the night, and managed to run off with no less than 35,000 Pokemon Trading 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 quickly snatching the Pokemon merchandise.

The Pokemon TCG Thieves Were Captured by Video Surveillance Cameras

According to Simpson, the criminals were not experts on the Pokemon TCG market as they omitted the more valuable merchandise pieces. That being said, a special set of Pokemon cards 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 a Pokemon trading card store has been the victim of theft. In 2023, a trio of robbers allegedly stole $1 million worth of Pokemon items from 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.

Franchise

Pokemon

Original Release Date

October 20, 1996