Thieves smashed their way into a Vancouver collectibles shop this week in the latest high-risk, high-reward crime targeting valuable Pokémon cards. The Vancouver Police Department says officers are investigating the overnight break-in at Royal Card Shop and Collectibles on Dunbar Street in the city’s west side. Two masked suspects, wearing all black, were captured on surveillance video prying open the back door of the business at 4335 Dunbar Street just before 3 a.m. on Aug. 3. The suspects, who police described as white men, used a stolen Ford pickup truck and tow straps to pull the store’s safe out the door and into the truck bed. Investigators say the stolen truck was found abandoned later that morning in Surrey, the engine still running. “The vehicle was later transported to the VPD property garage for forensic analysis,” the department said in a news release Wednesday. Pokémon cards, once little more than a schoolyard game for children, have skyrocketed in value, making them a desirable target for thieves looking to cash in on the craze. Some B.C. hobby shops have been burglarized multiple times for the trading cards, while private sellers have been assaulted and robbed of their card collections. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Vancouver police at 604-717-0610.
