Burglar makes off with more than $10,000 in rare Pokémon cards

A burglar is on the run in the U.S. after stealing tens of thousands of Pokémon cards from a home in Jonesboro, Arkansas this week.

More than 30,000 Pokémon TCG cards, alongside other valuable household items, totaled to an estimated value of around $12,000 USD were taken from the home on Sunday, June 4, police told a local Jonesboro news station.

The homeowner had returned to their residence after a month away to find someone had entered through a back window and taken the cards alongside a large television, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch console.

The cards that were taken had been accumulated over multiple decades since the 1990s, the victim told police. It wasn’t shared exactly how much of the $12,000 value was attributed to the stolen Pokémon cards specifically, however, using the other named items we can speculate it was roughly around $10,000.

While the number might seem high, when factoring in the number of cards and their age, getting to five figures isn’t much of a stretch. Pokémon card theft has become more prominent over the years as the price of these cards has skyrocketed exponentially.

Accounts of stealing have even included cases within the factory where cards are produced. Recently, The Pokémon Company launched an investigation into allegations factory workers had been stealing rare cards from the production line.

Related: Pokémon TCG fans enraged over reports staff were stealing rare cards

While the price of Pokémon cards has come down from its peak during the pandemic, new cards are still fetching quite a penny.

Because of this, crime connected to the TCG items hasn’t slowed down.