Collectible cards have become a major cash cow over the past decade. Released in 1886, Allen & Ginter is considered the first official baseball card trading set. Yet in the last 140 years, the 10 highest recorded card sales, according to Card Ladder, have occurred in the last five years.
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Last August, the most expensive sports card in history, featuring Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, fetched nearly $13 million at auction.
YouTuber-turned-WWE star Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for a staggering $16.5 million earlier this year.
With so much money to be made, just about everyone is trying to get their hands on a collection of valuable trading cards, including burglars, apparently.
A pair of brothers from the UK were arrested for a string of burglaries at local card shops.
Before their arrest, Keith and Shane Johnson, both from Birmingham, stole £71,000 (nearly $95,000) worth of Pokémon cards.
The pair of burglars broke into Celestial Collectables in Warrington in April. They did so by smashing through the glass entry with a crowbar.
Police were alerted to the break-in following reports that the shop was being ransacked.
On arrival, officers entered the shop through the broken doorway and discovered Pokémon cards scattered across the floor.
The items stolen were mainly Pokémon cards, valued at £62,000, and damage caused to the shop itself was in excess of £3,000.
According to police, the sibling thieves executed another heist at The Graded Gallery in Rugby. Once more, they smashed their way into the collectible store to steal valuable Pokémon cards.
After stealing stock and causing damage totalling more than £9,000, the burglars fled in a Nissan X-Trail that was linked to Keith Johnson's address.
Police Arrest Burglar Brothers After String of Robberies
Following the burglary, West Midlands Police informed Cheshire colleagues that another burglary had taken place in Warwickshire. Notably, the Nissan X-Trail involved in the burglary was parked outside Keith's address.
Officers then arrived at Keith Johnson's residence, where he and his brother were apprehended.
Keith Johnson, 33, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on July 2. The Pokémon-crazed thief pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary with intent to steal at an earlier hearing.
He was sentenced to 29 months in prison. His brother, Shane, faced the same charges. He will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 31 July.
