A pair of men from Japan have been arrested after trying to abscond with a rare Yu-Gi-Oh card from an unsuspecting store.
Two men have been apprehended after trying to make off with a super pricey Yu-Gi-Oh card from a Japanese store.
The robbery occurred on March 13, 2024, but hasn’t been reported by Japanese news until this past weekend. A man entered Fukufuku, a local game shop based in Akihabara, and asked to see a card locked off from the customers.
The card in question was the iconic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which the store had priced at 4.98 million yen, or around $33,000.
Once handed the card, the man fled the scene and jumped into a car. They were caught by the Tokyo police force’s Division 3, in which both men had been apprehended.
As reported by SoraNews24, the first man, named Sora Takashino, was quoted to have said:
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“I did it to [have money for] living and entertainment expenses.”
Kanta Sanmi, the second man, who was riding the car added:
“I didn’t think that [Takashino] had stolen anything.”
Contrary to what both men admitted, the card was reportedly sold at another store nearby for a lot less money than it was worth. According to reports, the men sold it for 1 million yen, which is $6,601.97. Presumably, the men cut the price down to shift it quickly before getting caught.
Blue Eyes White Dragon has been reprinted multiple times in Yu-Gi-Oh’s history. However, original first-print cards are hard to come by and often go for a lot of money.