It is no secret that the renowned Japanese video game and trading card Pokemon hold their own value in the market. And hence, one Japanese man decided to steal a bunch of Pokemon trading cards last month to pay off his debts.
More than the intention of stealing the pokemon cards, it was the modus operandi executed by the 28-year-old man that has made the headlines. According to theMainichi Shimbun, an IT worker from Tokyo, Kensuke Nakanishiused a rope to scale down a six-storey building to steal trading cards worth $9,120, as well as $2,370 in cash, the Japanese police said. The report further mentioned that Kensuke collected about 80 Pokémon and Yugioh! cards and the cash, with which he hoped to pay off his debt.
Kensuke broke into the trading card store by descending from the top floor of a six-storey building with the help of the rope at around 5am on March 23, 2021. According to Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Police Station investigators, Kensuke affixed a rope to the railing on the roof of the building and let it hang down. Holding the rope without any safety harness, he then climbed down about five meters and broke the store’s window with a tool to gain entry. The report mentions that Kensuke emerged as a possible suspect of breaking into the trading card store after he was spotted in a video footage from security cameras near the store.
TheMainichireports that Kensuke was quoted by police as saying that he was in the rock climbing club in high school and that is why he was not afraid of heights and chose this daring method of paying off his debts.
Pokemon cards have gained a sort of revival especially during the coronavirus pandemic when many people are exploring ways of entertaining themselves at home. Last month, a vintage Pokemon trading card, the 1999 first-edition “Shadowless” Charizard, with a “PSA 10 Gem Mint” rating, was sold on eBay for a whopping $311,800.