Surveillance Footage Captures Man Stealing 500 Pokémon Cards from Worcester Store

A Japanese manga and trading card store in Worcester was targeted in a theft last weekend. 

John Le, owner of Otaku Sekai, said his shop's surveillance cameras caught a man stealing hundreds of Pokémon cards on Saturday, Oct. 11, from his Park Avenue shop. Security footage shows the suspect flipping through card binders, stuffing cards into his sweatshirt, and leaving with a full binder during a busy Saturday afternoon at the store.

According to a WBZ-TV CBS News Boston report, Le estimated the man stole approximately 500 cards worth more than $3,500.

"Three thousand dollars is two weeks of my staff's pay," Le said. "It's a lot of money to us."

The stolen cards, mostly priced between $5 and $15 each, were targeted because they are affordable for children and families.

Le has posted photos of the suspect outside the shop amid a Worcester police investigation. Le believes this incident wasn't the first time the suspect targeted his store.

“He knew what he was doing. He knew how to hide cards from view. He knew how to look through the binders,” Le said in a statement shared with 7NEWS Boston. “In the store, we remember seeing him on a slower day. He waited for the right moment and a good opportunity to pull this off.”

Le, who opened the Worcester location in August after leaving a previous store at Auburn Mall, considers the community space vital for kids, manga, and trading card enthusiasts.

“The family bonding — you know, the friends, the emotion, the feels — that's all into these cardboard that's worth so much more than their monetary value,” he said.