In a real-life crime mimicking the infamous Team Rocket, two thieves have been arrested following a brazen warehouse burglary in Retford, Nottinghamshire. The pair made off with an estimated £10,000 worth of valuable Pokémon trading cards but, in a twist of fate, reportedly missed a single rare card valued at more than £1,000.
The Heist: A Methodical Break-In
The burglary unfolded when the two men cut through the storage facility's perimeter fencing. To gain access to the prized collectables, they then removed bricks from a wall of the warehouse. Their getaway vehicle, a van suspected of using cloned number plates, was captured on CCTV leaving the scene.
A swift police investigation tracked the van's movements from Nottinghamshire to South Yorkshire and then into Manchester. Officers from Nottinghamshire Police and Greater Manchester Police coordinated efforts, leading to the vehicle being intercepted in a storage yard. There, the two suspects were caught in the act of removing boxes filled with the suspected stolen Pokémon cards. A sledgehammer and other tools were also discovered inside the van.
Swift Arrests and Recovery
Two men, aged 24 and 26 and from Leeds, were arrested on suspicion of burglary. Detective Sergeant Andrea Brown praised the rapid response, stating: ‘In a few hours of the burglary occurring, we have not only arrested two suspects but secured the stolen goods. This was excellent work by officers.’
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to locate any further individuals connected to the crime. Despite the successful recovery of the bulk of the haul, the thieves' oversight in leaving behind a highly valuable card has added a curious footnote to the incident.
A Growing Trend in Collectable Crime
This high-value theft is not an isolated event in the world of trading cards. In a similar incident last year, a burglar used a hammer to break into a collectables shop in New Bedford, Massachusetts, stealing more than £80,000 worth of rare Pokémon cards.
William Gilmour, a co-owner of the targeted 1st Edition Collectable shop, told The New York Times the thief was ‘in and out of our store within 30 seconds’ and went ‘straight to these high-value items.’ The shop shared CCTV images on social media of a masked individual kneeling before a shattered display case.
The Retford case highlights the significant monetary value now attached to nostalgic collectables, making them a growing target for organised theft. Police forces are increasingly required to tackle these specialised commercial burglaries with speed and coordination.
