A thief knew exactly what they wanted when they broke into a Nanaimo, B.C., hobby shop early Thursday morning. In less than two minutes, they smashed through the front door, headed for the shelves, and took thousands of dollars worth of sought after Pokémon cards. All Elite Cards and Games owner Allan Mah says he received a security notification around 3:50 a.m. and arrived at the store within minutes. Police arrived shortly afterward, but the suspect was already gone. Security footage shows the thief moving quickly through the shop on Bowen Road, taking sealed Pokémon products before leaving. Mah says the entire break in lasted just one minute and 38 seconds. Mah believes the suspect appeared to know the store and what they were looking for. “Their first look was the cards in my display cases, which were not there, and they went for the next best thing, and it was the sealed product,” Mah said. The stolen merchandise included older Pokémon sets that have become highly sought after by collectors. One of the most valuable items taken was an Evolving Skies booster box. Mah says those boxes once sold for roughly $130 to $150 but have since climbed to about $3,400 on the collector market. Two Elite Trainer Boxes, worth about $370 each, were also stolen, along with several other Pokémon products. Mah estimates the total value of the stolen merchandise at between $5,000 and $6,000. He says theft has become a familiar concern within the Pokémon collecting community as the hobby has grown in popularity. “Everyone can see how lucrative it can be,” Mah said. “A lot of people don’t realize people like to show the good stuff. There’s a lot of bad stuff. Not everyone’s making all this money.” Mah says running a collectibles business is also a grind, involving long days, travel and attending shows to buy and sell merchandise. Mah has operated the store for just over two years. While there was a previous incident before the business opened, he says this is the first time the store has been targeted for its merchandise. Despite the loss, Mah says he has learned to put incidents like this into perspective. “I have a very high threshold with frustration,” he said. “Deep down inside it sucks, right? But you got to move on.” Mah says the support he has received from customers and members of the collecting community has helped. Friends reached out after hearing about the break in, with some even offering to come check on the store. Mah says he was prepared for the possibility of being targeted and knows the aftermath could have been worse. “I know what I’m getting myself into. I’ve emotionally prepared myself to have this happen,” he said. “It could have been worse. I’ve seen other stores when this happens, they get completely vandalized, everything getting destroyed.” The Nanaimo RCMP are investigating. Anyone with information about the break in is asked to contact police.
