Counterfeit Pokémon products are a common sight out in the wild, but a recent police operation in Japan led to the arrest of a 21-year-old seller of fake Pokémon cards.
According to a number of Japanese news sources, as well as PokéBeach, Annaka City police were informed of Reo Otake’s counterfeiting ways back in November 2022 after a customer of the suspect reported purchasing four Pokémon cards for 186,100 Yen, or roughly $1,252, through an auction website.
Not only did the police open an investigation, but they also contacted Nintendo directly and asked the company to appraise the cards—which it did, confirming those products were fakes. Reuters reports that Otake then openly admitted to selling counterfeit products.
Gunma Prefectural police officers seized a reported 1,000 cards from Otake’s home on Oct. 4, all of which are believed to be counterfeit. That includes around 400 Pokémon TCG products in both English and Japanese.
This comes less than a month after The Pokémon Company and its partners at Creatures confirmed they would be cracking down hard on “replica” Pokémon TCG products being sold online in Japan, which could have helped with this investigation.
Over the last several years, as Pokémon cards skyrocketed in popularity and value, fake cards and product thefts have become much more prominent. Just this April, TPC had to make a statement after reports of English printing staff stealing hundreds of Secret Rare cards back in November 2022 enraged fans.
If TPC is starting to hammer counterfeits off the market and pursue legal action against sellers, we should see more reports like this popping up in coming months.
