It’s no secret that trading cards are currently experiencing a massive renaissance, with the Pokemon Company reporting a phenomenal 3.7 billion Pokémon cards during the financial year 2020-2021. As many Millenials evolve into first-time parents, some of them are re-discovering Pokemon and Digimon, reliving the fond memories of their childhood and sharing the joys of collecting with a new generation of Pokemon trainers, Digi tamers. The enormous popularity of trading cards isn’t just about heart-warming trips down memory lane or even hitting the jackpot with rare cards, as evidenced by this ridiculous (albeit unfortunate) report from the South Australian Police Department earlier today.
Gotta catch 'em all! Five people arrested over trading card theft in Adelaide https://t.co/gdwtrxVZSj pic.twitter.com/eUZ2YbyKhV
— South Australia Police (@SAPoliceNews) August 11, 2021
According to SAPOL, five individuals have been arrested in connection with a break-in and theft at a gaming store located in Adelaide’s CBD. The burglary occurred sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning and the group took off with a large number of rare Digimon trading cards as well as a few brand new board games. In a stunning act of senselessness, one of the suspects returned to the very same store around lunchtime on Tuesday to inquire about the value of the stolen cards.
Staff at the shop called the police and the suspect then led officers to a nearby home where they found a majority of the missing cards and games as well as two additional suspects. Taking the phrase ‘return to the scene of the crime’ to an absurd level of literalism, another member of the group returned to the shop a few hours later, also with the intention of valuing and selling the stolen cards. Incredible.
A 41-year-old Belair man, a 30-year-old Adelaide woman, a 28-year-old Adelaide man, a 28-year-old Seaton man and a 41-year-old man of no fixed address have all been charged with offences including serious criminal trespass, unlawful possession and theft by receiving. A sixth person is still being sought by police.
