The fever from Pokémon cards Not only affects collectors, but also shopkeepers. Last June 14, in Kasamatsu, in the prefecture of Fukushima, A 35 -year -old employee employee attempted to rob his competitor in his same neighborhood. It is now under arrest. According to the local police, the man would have threatened the manager with a knife and Taken 123 articles, between cash and rare Pokémon cards, for an estimated value of 13.7 million yen, about 94,000 dollars. This is the third arrest linked to the story. In fact, the authorities speak of an organized action, which would involve more people linked to the world of collecting and trade in Pokémon cards.
The relief on the victim’s social networks
To make the arrests public was the same victim of the robbery, with various Social X post in which he expressed his frustration for being attacked by another trader in the area. According to his story, there are other accomplices still on the loose, which is why he decided to spread the news hoping for useful reports. Move that proved to be correct, given i Three arrests made on 9 July.
Meanwhile, the posts have become viral, helping to rekindle the debate on safety in specialized stores and growing tension Around a market, such as those of the Pokémon cards, which moves millions of dollars every year. Both in digital version, as evidenced by the exceptional debut of GCC Pokémon Pocket, and as regards the royal collectible cards. Just think of the clamor triggered by the uniqueness of the Popplio card signed by Pope Leo XIV, or to the scam of hundreds of thousands of dollars for Pokémon Beta cards. Single stories, however, that reiterate how incandescent the atmosphere around the collectible cards of the Nati Nati Negli 90s monsters is.
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The Pokémon card market grows, together with the thefts
In recent years, the Pokémon collectible card game has experienced A real boom, also dragged by Covid-19 pandemics. The rarest cards are sold to auction for five or six zeros figures, and this has made the sector more and more vulnerable to thefts and robberies in recent years. Especially in Japan, where the franchise was born and has a huge sequel. According to local media, similar episodes are multiplying. Among the best known, the blow to Osaka in 2024 by a couple who interrogated the employees of a shop before stealing 100 collectible cards Pokémon with a high economic value (10 million yen, equal to 62 thousand euros).
The most sought after cards – such as those of Charizard, Pikachu Illustrator or the first holographic editions – then end up on the online resale circuits, where it is difficult to trace its origin. And this has favored the birth of an international black market. The newspaper Mondi It says that even The members of the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, discouraged by the narrow on illegal activities, are dedicating themselves to the theft of high value Pokémon cardsconsidering them ideal tools for money recycling: they are easy to hide, transport and sell above all abroad. In one episode, a Gang manager was arrested for stealing 25 cards for a value of 252,000 yen, about 1,500 euros.
