Image credit: The Pokémon Company

Many of us are excited for Pokémon TCG's latest sets - including the massive 30th anniversary one - but a pair of brothers in Warrington, Cheshire, England took things too far when they stole over £71,000 worth of loot across several collectibles stores.

Cheshire Police shared the news (hat tip to IGN), stating the men, Keith and Shane Johnson, aged 33 and 37, had been caught following a break-in at Celestial Collectables, on Lovely Lane in Warrington. This was reported on the evening of the 8th April, 2026. "The shop specialises in rare and high value Pokémon trading cards along with memorabilia" and other items.

Crime scene investigators recovered a crowbar from the ransacked location. "The items stolen were mainly Pokémon cards to the value of £62,000 and damage caused to the shop itself was in excess of £3,000." Thanks to CCTV, the police began tracking a van with cloned plates. After some enquiries, it was revealed the van travelled from Birmingham to Warrington on the day of the burglary.

After connecting other hits - with damage caused above £9,000 - to the same brothers, the police followed a different vehicle, a Nissan X-Trail they used to depart a previous location. Eventually, "West Midlands Police informed Cheshire colleagues that another burglary had taken place in Warwickshire and the Nissan X-Trail involved in the burglary was parked outside Keith's." At the place, the keys to the van used in the Warrington burglary, stolen property from the original store, the keys to the Nissan X-Trail, and some of the clothes used during the first break-in were found.

The end result? 29 months in prison for Keith Johnson. Shane is considered an accomplice "and will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 31st July" after admitting to the same offences. The Cheshire Police jokingly added "gotta catch 'em all!" as part of the report's title.

Needless to say, the Pokémon TCG fever is driving folks to break the rules. From theft to the ongoing issue with scalping, Pokémon cards have become valuable targets for both criminals and people looking to make 'easy' money by reselling sealed Pokémon TCG products after they become scarce. Meanwhile, The Pokémon Company is printing billions of new cards like there's no tomorrow.

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