A group of masked thieves were caught on video stealing $15,000 worth of Pokemon cards from a California store in less than 40 seconds.
The burglary took place at The Card Lab in Brentwood, California, on Saturday night, June 6, and was captured on surveillance footage.
According to ABC7, three masked suspects rushed into the store, jumped over display cases, and grabbed thousands of dollars worth of Pokemon cards before fleeing the scene.
The entire break-in lasted a mere 39 seconds.
Police said the suspects drove away in a Nissan Altima after stealing roughly $15,000 worth of cards. They remain at large as Brentwood police continue to investigate.
Speedy thieves steal $15,000 worth of Pokemon cards in record time
Store owner Ronnie Hackett told ABC7 that a manager was inside the building when the burglary happened, but she was upstairs at the time.
“My first thought was, I hope that my employee was okay, and I was relieved to see that she was,” Hackett said. “And then I also just kind of wanted to see what the damage was, what damage was done.”
Hackett said he was relieved the manager was not downstairs when the thieves rushed in, saying the situation “could have been way worse.”
The Card Lab had only been open for around two months before the break-in. The store is expected to remain closed for a few days while extra security measures are installed.
The theft comes as trading card stores continue to deal with a rise in targeted break-ins, with Pokemon cards becoming a valuable item on the resale market.
Earlier this year, armed gunmen robbed a popular Pokemon trading card shop in New York City, making off with more than $100,000 worth of collectibles during a packed community event.
In another incident, two men were arrested in Tokyo after stealing $200,000 in Pokemon cards from a delivery van, and had insider knowledge of the van’s route to identify the exact moment the driver would step away.
Just last month, a Florida man was arrested after allegedly using a chainsaw to break into a store and steal thousands of dollars worth of Pokemon cards.
