Pokémon Card Thieves Jailed for Stealing £71,000 Stock After Getaway Van Breakdown

A brace of Pokémon paper thieves person been caught aft their getaway van broke down and they were recovered holding £71,000 of stolen banal (around $95,000).

The 2 brothers, Keith and Shane Johnson, pled blameworthy to burglary astatine a tribunal successful Birmingham, UK past week, with the erstwhile sentenced to 29 months successful jail. His member volition beryllium sentenced aboriginal this month, Cheshire Police stated.

Neither antheral appears to beryllium a transgression mastermind. The Johnsons archetypal targeted Celestial Collectibles, a store that specializes successful uncommon Pokémon cards and merchandise successful Warrington. Police were alerted aft the break-in was spotted.

Pokémon paper thief Keith Johnson. Image credit: Cheshire Police.

Escaping successful a Ford transit van, the duo's strategy was halted aft the conveyance broke down — leaving the brothers to get retired and propulsion it to wherever a 2nd getaway van was waiting. This 2nd conveyance was past recovered parked extracurricular their house.

Despite this, the brothers went connected to people a 2nd business, The Graded Gallery successful Rugby. Again, much Pokémon paper banal was stolen and the store was near successful disarray. In some instances, the brothers utilized a crowbar to smash their mode into the store and origin thousands of pounds worthy of harm successful the process.

Ultimately, constabulary caught up with the brothers astatine their location — wherever they recovered the missing cards, keys to some getaway vehicles and covering worn during the archetypal burglary.

"The overwhelming grounds collected done our extended enquiries enactment them astatine some transgression scenes giving them nary prime but to plead guilty," said Cheshire Police spokesperson DC Hannah Smith successful a statement. "The brothers volition present person to wage the terms for their portion successful their transgression Pokémon enterprise."

These thefts are conscionable the latest successful a seemingly never-ending spate of burglaries targeting Pokémon cards owed to their precocious value, driven by immense popularity and continuing scarcity. That's contempt The Pokémon Company manufacturing an astonishing 10 cardinal cards successful 2025 unsocial — much cards than the fig of radical connected the planet, and inactive obscurity adjacent capable to conscionable demand.

Card manufacturing has been boosted importantly successful caller years to effort and support up with demand. 43 cardinal cards were printed successful the 25 years betwixt October 1996 and March 2022, but fundamentally the aforesaid magnitude again has present been released successful conscionable the past 4 years. And with the brand's eye-catching 30th day acceptable owed successful September, the concern is improbable to calm down anytime soon.

Last week, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said The Pokémon Company would "take measures" to woody with the rampant shortages and scalping, though stopped abbreviated of mentioning thing specific. In the meantime, the past twelvemonth unsocial has seen countless instances wherever trading paper stores person been breached into overnight.

One paper store successful New York was precocious targeted by equipped thieves successful wide daylight, leaving terrified unit and shoppers held astatine gunpoint. In May, reports emerged of a Florida antheral who was arrested connected suspicion of stealing $12,000 of Pokémon cards portion wielding a battery-powered chainsaw. And successful April, different hopeless Pokémon instrumentality was arrested successful Pasadena, California, aft hiding wrong a closed Best Buy up of a Pokémon paper drop. At slightest successful England, these 2 thieves person been captured.

Image credit: Cheshire Police.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social