Canadian collector Emilio Kihien took matters into his own hands after police said they “couldn’t do much” to help him recover $4,000 worth of stolen Pokémon cards.
Kihien was conducting what he thought was a standard sale for a few highly-graded, officially-encapsulated Pokémon trading cards at his home in Coquitlam when the buyers handed him $4,000 in phony bills, snatched the goods, and ran. Kihien gave chase, even hanging onto the side of the thieves’ getaway car before falling onto the road, suffering bruising and a painful bout of road rash as a result.
His next step was to contact police — but he says authorities told him they “couldn’t do much” to help him recover his stolen property. According to Kihien, one officer even told him it’d be better to try and catch the culprits himself.
“The police response — they really didn’t seem like they were gonna help me that much. One of the officers literally said, ‘If it was me, I’d probably just try to set them up myself,’” he told local outlet CTV News.
A few days later, one of Kihien’s buddies came across a listing for the stolen cards online. The thieves even used the exact same images Kihien had included in his original posting.
“I’m just thinking, you know what, these guys can’t be the most intelligent of people,” he remarked.
Acting quickly, Kihien and his friends posed as interested buyers, and set up an exchange at the Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby on August 13, where they detained the alleged thieves until police arrived. Reports state one adult and one juvenile were detained, who could face criminal charges including theft.
Kihien recorded the entire ordeal on his smart glasses, showing himself and his friends blocking the suspects from leaving the Barnaby mall. And while their sting operation proved successful, police are urging future victims of theft against such measures.
“Vigilantism can only cause problems,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Mike Kalanj said. “No one knows who has weapons. Even as the victim, if you show up and you harm someone, now you’re looking at charges, as well.”
The stolen cards went mostly unharmed, though one case was cracked in the altercations. The haul included three 2023 Pokémon Mew EN Special Illustration Rare EX cards (for Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard), graded a PSA 10 — meaning the agency could find no flaws with them, whatsoever.
This is the latest Pokémon TCG crime to make headlines after a pair of thieves in Britain were locked up for making off with £71,000 ($95,000) worth of stock after their getaway van broke down in July.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.