Not cash, not jewels: You won’t believe what these masked bandits stole that was worth over $100,000

Police in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 60 miles south of Boston, are investigating a brazen theft that has left the local collector community in a state of shock.

Officers responded early Tuesday morning to a break-in at 1st Edition Collectibles, a well-known trading card store on Purchase Street in downtown New Bedford. According to the store owners, a masked burglar forced entry around 2:30 a.m. last Tuesday, July 8, then made off with an significant haul of rare Pokémon trading cards as well as other hard-to-find items that are highly sought after by serious collectors.

Masked intruder knew what he was looking for

William Gilmour, one of the store’s owners described the break-in which was captured by surveillance cameras. The intruder had obviously cased the shop and knew where everything was, as he headed straight to a display cabinet containing high-end collectibles, tossed them into his swag bag before making a dash for it. “They were in and out of our store within 30 seconds,” Gilmour told the New York Times. “They went straight to these high-value items.”

Among the stolen goods were ultra-rare, graded collectibles valued at a total of $113,650, including a BGS 8.5 First Edition Shadowless Charizard and a BGS 7.5 First Edition Shadowless Blastoise as well as sealed Booster Boxes, which contain 36 packs of original cards each.

In a

Facebook post, store owners asked the public to keep their eyes peeled in case the stolen items appear for sale on the black market. Following the theft, the store remained closed for several days before reopening on Tuesday.

“This incident was devastating but we will bounce back, grow, and come back better than ever,” owners, Will, Fil, and Sean said in a statement. “The overwhelming support that we’ve received from you all this week has been amazing and a reminder as to why we love this hobby and the community involved so much. We’re truly honored to be apart of it”.

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