In the alarming trend of Pokémon card thefts around the Lower Mainland — and around the world — it seems shop owners can’t do enough to protect themselves from break-ins.
On Thursday morning, another shop was hit — this time in Burnaby.
Captured! Cards has only been open for six months, but owner Leon Chan says he has seen this before.
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“We had an alarm trigger around 2:50 a.m. this morning, got here around 3:05,” Chan said. “Got broken into for the third time.”
Last December, thieves tried to break in but were unsuccessful. On Jan. 12, a group smashed a window and took $10,000 worth of Pokémon products.
This time, they managed to get away with a display case — but it was empty.
“The emptiness is because we take a vast majority of things down, but they still took a few knick-knacks that we can’t put away… estimated $5-6,000 in losses,” he said.
“They went for our glass case again, which was already broken.”
Chan says repeated break-ins like this not only hurt in terms of monetary losses; they also take a heavy toll on him as a small business owner.
“Financially, I think we can recover. But mentally… my wife can’t sleep at night because we’re always worried about the alarm,” he said.
“Spending less time with kids.”
This is now the third break-in targeting Pokémon card shops around the Lower Mainland in just one week.
Police can’t confirm if they are being done by the same people.
“This isn’t just a Lower Mainland issue; it’s happening in the U.S., all over the place,” said Burnaby RCMP media relations officer Mike Kalanj.
“As far as tracking them, it’s really difficult.”
Chan says he is not allowed to install bars on the windows due to strata restrictions and says he is considering moving his business altogether.
Kalanj has a message for the public.
“If there wasn’t a market for it, they wouldn’t be stealing them,” he said.
“If you’re buying stolen cards, you’re part of the problem.”