Pokémon cards have always been big ticket items, even back on the playground as kids when we demanded our fellow 9-year-olds up their offer for our prized Charizard. After a pandemic-era spike in value, however, Pokémon cards have become so wildly valuable that bold thieves are no longer trying to crack open bank vaults or steal precious jewels.

Why bother when you can take much less risk by stealing $70,000 worth of Pokémon cards?

Sure, cops might murder you in a Target parking lot for the theft, but that’s a small price to pay for a quick fortune. Take, for instance, a heist that went down in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday morning in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A thief broke into 1st Edition Collectibles and made off with over $113,000 in rare Pokémon cards.

Surveillance footage shows a masked figure crouching over a shattered display case like Gollum fawning over his precious ring, but instead of The One Ring, it’s a booster pack.

Among the thieves’ loot were a BGS 8.5 Skyridge Crystal Charizard and a BGS 7.5 1st Edition Shadowless Blastoise. Both are extremely valuable and rare cards dating back to the early 2000s and highly sought after by collectors.

In total, the thieves made away with $113,650 worth of cards. These are collectibles that could have been sold at auction from sets that are long out of print. They’ve also been officially rated, certifying their condition. That figure of $113,650 is based on the amount fetched for similar cards at auction.

According to the store’s co-owner, Felipe Andre, the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for. The guy likely knew the terrain and the market value of those specific cards. And the damage wasn’t limited to the cards that were stolen. Windows were smashed, and a door was broken as the store, a passion project of three friends, was wrecked over some Pokémon cards.

But there’s still a sliver of hope: every stolen card had been professionally graded and serialized. These aren’t easy to flip on Craigslist without raising a few red flags. The owners have published the serial numbers on their social media in case someone stumbles across a sketchy Blastoise.