Arrests made in theft of $87K worth of collectibles from Calgary stores

A police vehicle is shown at Calgary Police Service headquarters in Calgary, Alta., on April 9, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Two Calgary men are facing charges in connection with a series of thefts at collectible stores last summer that saw $87,600 in merchandise stolen.

Police say three stores were broken into between July 14 and Sept. 7, 2025, including Celly Sports and Games, Eastridge Sports Cards and Games and First Player Card Shop.

A break-in was attempted at a fourth location – Olympic Sports Cards and Games – but the suspects weren’t able to get inside after sawing through the door.

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“In all cases, the suspects used power tools and pry bars to break into the stores, causing significant damage,” police said. “They also relied on stolen vehicles to get to and from each retailer, abandoning the vehicles after each incident.”

Police say $5,000 worth of collectible cards were taken from Celly Sports, $10,600 worth of trading cards were stolen from First Player and $72,000 worth of trading cards were taken from Eastridge Sports.

Investigators spent several months canvassing the communities where the crimes took place and watching hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

They were ultimately able to retrieve many of the stolen cards and locate the stolen vehicles used.

“The thieves in these cases did far more than simply steal some collectible cards,” said Const. Garret Dawson. “They took valuable merchandise from small business owners while also stealing vehicles and destroying property. These were serious crimes and we were determined to catch the people responsible.”

The accused, a 48-year-old and a 63-year-old, face a combined 10 charges.

Both are scheduled to appear in court on June 22.