More than $100,000 worth of rare Pokémon trading cards were swiped by a seemingly savvy collector from a small shop in Massachusetts, according to reports.
The brazen bandit used a hammer to smash open the door of 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford, Mass., around 2:30 a.m. last Tuesday, according to the New York Times.
The masked burglar made a beeline for a display case that held high-end collectibles and tossed them in a bag before running away, according to William Gilmour, one of the store’s owners.
“They were in and out of our store within 30 seconds,” Gilmour told the Times.
“They went straight to these high-value items.”
The thief made off with five rare Pokémon trading cards and some vintage box sets – which combined are worth an estimated $100,000 to $113,000, Gilmour said.
The stolen Pokémon cards, which have boomed in popularity with kids, included a BGS 8.5 First Edition Shadowless Charizard – a small, yellow dragon-like creature that shoots flames.
Also snatched was a BGS 7.5 First Edition Shadowless Blastoise, a chunky Pokémon that looks like a turtle and has the power of “rain dance.”
BGS stands for Beckett Grading Services, which rates sports and trading cards.
The stolen sealed boxes included a Pokémon base set Unlimited Green Wing Booster Box, which contains 36 packs of original cards.
“They are really rare because how many sealed boxes are still there from 1999 to 2000?” Gilmour told the Times.
The shop in downtown New Bedford, about 60 miles south of Boston, sells Pokémon collectibles, sports cards and vintage video games
“We’re literally just three guys. This is our passion. This is what we have loved since we were children,” Felipe Andre, another store owner, told NBC Boston.
The owners said they planned to reopen on Tuesday.
As of Monday, law enforcement officials said the robbery remained under investigation and that no arrests had been made.
The New Bedford Police Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Pokémon – short for pocket monsters – skyrocketed in popularity in the 1990s, after its launch as a Japanese video game.
The tiny monsters later became available as trading cards, and have since appeared in animated series and movies, as well as figurines – especially its most famous character, Pikachu, the yellow mouse-like figure with red cheeks that can shoot lightning when angry.
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