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Thieves tunnel into store, steal $180K in Pokemon cards
21 Feb
Summary
- Four suspects tunneled through a wall to access the collectibles store.
- Thieves stole approximately $180,000 worth of Pokemon cards.
- The heist occurred early Wednesday morning at a California store.
Brazen thieves tunneled through a wall to steal an estimated $180,000 worth of Pokemon cards from a collectibles store in North Orange County, California. The incident unfolded early Wednesday morning, with four suspects involved in the meticulously planned heist.
Authorities report that the suspects first gained entry into an adjacent business. They then utilized a sledgehammer to break through the shared wall, creating an entry point into the DOWE Collectibles store. Security footage captured the suspects swiftly targeting and emptying glass display cases filled with the valuable trading cards.
The owner, Duy Pham, alerted police as soon as he was notified of the break-in. He noted that the thieves bypassed electronics, focusing solely on the Pokemon cards, some of which are valued at thousands of dollars each. The suspects fled the scene in a dark-colored sedan.
Police are actively investigating the theft and following several leads. This marks the second time the DOWE Collectibles store has been targeted. The popularity of the Pokemon franchise, which began in Japan in 1996, continues to drive significant value in its trading cards, with rare editions fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
