GTA thieves are going after pricey Pokémon trading cards. How 2 stores say they’re fighting back

John Amendola, of Mintik Sports Cards, said the one on the left is of a shoplifter from an incident in 2024 and the photo on the right is of an attempted break-in at his store in November. (Courtesy of John Amendola)

Thieves across the Greater Toronto Area are trying to catch them all, both Pokémon and Magic the Gathering trading cards.

These cards have boomed in popularity in recent years and, depending on their rarity, they can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars — occasionally, millions.

“They say the card is worth as much as someone is willing to pay,” said William Chong, owner of Dolly’s Toys and Games in Scarborough. “If your card goes for $200K, it could go for $300K tomorrow, as long as someone is willing to pay that amount of money for it.”

Chong deals with high-end cards and said he’s suffered three break-ins.

“Almost all the break-ins happen in the middle of the night when no one is here, so thankfully no one is hurt, none of our staff are around, but it happens quite often now, especially with Pokémon cards being almost as valuable as precious metals or gold,” Chong said. “It’s almost as good as cash.”

Mintink Sports Cards, which also sells expensive cards in Vaughan and Ajax, says it has also been hit multiple times.

“Five attempted break-ins, three break-ins at multiple locations, we’ve had an armed robbery and we had a couple instances of mail fraud to the tune of 100-plus thousand dollars,” John Amendola, CEO and co-founder, explained from his Vaughan location.

York Regional Police say they’re not observing a noticeable increase in trading cards being specifically targeted in thefts.

In October 2024, a York investigation recovered around $100,000 worth of Pokémon and Magic the Gathering trading cards.

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Officers said, fortunately, there hasn’t been another incident like it this year, but they’ve seen isolated incidents of shoplifting at retail locations selling cards.

“Trading cards are sometimes stolen as items of opportunity during residential break and enters but are not a primary target in most reported incidents,” Const. James Dickson said in an email.

“I can tell you there is an issue; it happens all the time and they are aware and Peel, York and Toronto, they’ve all done a great job,” said Amendola. “I think they just don’t want to bring more light to it, there are children involved, families.”

In Peel Regional Police told CTV News Toronto that data is categorized too broadly to isolate incidents around trading cards. Police in Toronto also said they don’t see a consistent crime trend of Pokémon card thefts.

To protect his stores and employees from theft and violence, Amendola has become a self-described security expert.

He says he installed bars for protection on doors and windows, vaults, a sophisticated entry system and plenty of cameras.

Both store owners point out there are mechanisms within the industry that stop thieves.

“If there’s 15 dealers in Ontario, there’s only so many you can steal your goods to, secondly mostly everything is tagged, seared, realized, all the grading is encapsulated and a lot of the manufacturers are now issuing bar codes specific to the store,” Amendola said.

“We still recover lots of stolen items just because, as easy as they do move, sometimes it’s really tough to get away with very expensive cards without raising red flags,” said Chong.

But Chong said despite taking lots of precautions and making security upgrades, the efforts don’t deter all thieves.

Both Chong and Amendola said collectors can help ensure their safety by choosing a safe location to do trades, such as a store or meeting at a police station.