The loot: for 48,000 euros in Pokémon cards

The seller “should have known better”, suspect Fahad A. told the judge about the victim. “He’s an expert on Pokémon.” Then you know that you should always be careful if you are going to sell precious Pokémon cards. “The golden rule is: don’t just let anyone into your house. Always meet up with someone.”

“What do you mean by that?” asks the judge. “That sounds like a reproach.”

At the end of 2020, a 31-year-old Pokémon collector from Kampen will make an appointment with a potential buyer for his cards. Two men come by. One of them asks for Coke and when the collector takes it from the pantry, the men push it into the cupboard, lock it and run off with the cards. From the closet, the victim sounds the alarm by phone. The police free him.

Fahad A. (30), together with Bartholomeus G. (29) and Sjagalio K. (29), is on trial in the court in Zwolle for theft with violence and deprivation of liberty. The case had already been heard in November, but had to be concluded on January 31 due to time constraints. A. is now in custody for 8.5 months, G. and K. for about 6 months.

Since childhood, the suspect has been crazy about everything about Pokémon, he says

The 31-year-old victim from Kampen is demanding compensation. According to him, the stolen 28 rare Pokémon cards and a box containing 36 sealed packs of 11 cards are worth 48,000 euros.

It sounds like a lot of money for a few cardboard cards, but Pokémon cards have become a sought-after investment. Some cards are worth tens of thousands of euros. That makes traders get scammed, or worse. In Voorburg, criminals rammed into the facade of an Intertoys branch last year and captured Pokémon cards, among other things.

A., the mastermind behind the heist according to the police, is deep in the Pokémon world. The entrepreneur – with a clean criminal record – trades a lot in cards. He was not at the victim’s home on the day of the robbery. But rather. A few months before that, he bought two tickets from him for 21,000 euros. “After that we had a drink,” says A. “And had a chat about crypto.”

A. would then have introduced the man from Kampen to a new buyer via WhatsApp. But actually that is A. himself with a different number, the police think. According to the investigation, G. and K. eventually commit the robbery. It is A. who offers the stolen cards to various merchants abroad and sells part of them in France. Coincidence, according to A. They were in a bag full of Pokémon cards that he bought for 14,000 euros at a station in Almere. The police found no evidence for this.

His lawyer is calling for acquittal. A. was not at the victim’s home that day and he has nothing to do with the violence. “I have cooperated from day one and always indicated that I did not do it.” He calls the fact that he has been detained for 260 days “not normal”. It has an impact on his company, the relationship with his partner and his girlfriend. “It’s one big nightmare.”

Bart G. and Sjagalio K. are quieter, sit more slumped and answer questions briefly. Their fingerprints were found in the victim’s home. They have known each other for about twelve years, according to the police. Both have criminal records.

K. denies any involvement. The thumbprint found on the stair cupboard in the house only proves that he was once in the victim’s house. “I sell nitrous oxide, drink, flowers,” says K. “If you look at two hundred doors, you will always find my fingerprint somewhere.” His lawyer disputes that violence was committed. “Giving a push is not an act of violence,” he says.

Of the three, only G. confesses that he was at the seller’s house on the date of the robbery to buy tickets. Since childhood, he has been “crazy about all things Pokémon.” According to G., the selling man himself became aggressive when G. inquired whether it was possibly stolen goods. “He took something out of the closet and I saw a bat. I closed the door and locked it. For my own safety.”

“How do you feel about Pokémon now?” the judge asks G. “I’ll stop there. I want a steady job and move on with my life.”

The officer is demanding an unconditional prison sentence of four years against all three suspects. This is because of the high amount and the violence – the push. It doesn’t matter who was the brain and who was the performer. “Equal monks, equal hoods,” he says. A verdict in this case will follow in two weeks.