Tokyo police have arrested two men on suspicion of stealing a trading card from the popular "Yu-Gi-Oh!" series worth ¥4.98 million ($33,000) at a store near Akihabara Station in Tokyo.
The suspects, Sora Takashino and Kanta Sanmi, both 22, are accused of conspiring to steal the prized “Blue Eyes White Dragon” card.
According to the police, at around 4:50 p.m. on March 13, Takashino entered the trading card store in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward and asked the store clerk to take the card out of its display case so he could inspect its condition, before surreptitiously pocketing the card while the store clerk was distracted. He then allegedly got into a car that was waiting near the store and made a quick escape.
Sanmi is believed to be the driver of said car. He confessed to driving Takashino, but stated that he did not think Takashino would commit the theft. Takashino has admitted to all charges, according to police.
Upon noticing the theft, the store clerk promptly alerted the police by phone.
According to police, the card was sold for ¥1 million at a specialty store in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district about three hours later. A customer at the Ikebukuro store who found the two men suspicious notified police of the transaction.
Reportedly, Takashino and Sanmi were acquaintances who had worked at the same construction site in 2023, and were tracked down via the license plate number of the getaway car.