Burbank trading card shop has $100k in Pokémon, sports cards stolen during burglary

A trading card shop in Burbank says that they were hit for more than $100,000 in stolen Pokémon and sports cards during an overnight burglary earlier this week. 

LA Sports Cards, located in the 1900 block of W. Olive Avenue, had the front door of their shop broken by a crowbar before a trio of burglars used power tools to bypass a bolted metal gate on Dec. 2. 

"Total loss is many six figures," said Kiet Nguyen, the store owner. "The perpetrators were in and out in two minutes. Quick."

Surveillance camera footage from inside the store shows the three suspects dumping boxes of Pokémon cards into trash bags, ransacking shelves during the process. 

Though the store specializes in buying, selling and trading all kinds of collectible cards, they also house a large collection of sports memorabilia and cards. 

"This is our blood, sweat, toil and tears," Nguyen said, noting that the thieves seemed especially focused on their exclusive Pokémon collection. "It was Pokémon. It wasn't 'One Piece,' it wasn't Disney, it wasn't Magic, it was Pokémon."

Nguyen said that the burglars also took off with "a lot of sports cards" that were locked up in the back of the store. 

"Some of those are really, really expensive," he said. 

Inside the locked box they took from the back was a one-of-ten in the world Cristiano Ronaldo card, which he estimates is worth more than $100,000 by itself. 

"It feels like a violation," Nguyen said. "This is like our home. Feels like someone went in our home, ransacked our things. It was personal to that level."

Police have not yet responded to CBS Los Angeles' request for comment on the investigation.