Taupō Pokémon card theft: Suspect caught with public’s help, $2200 in cards recovered

A member of the public has helped police find a man accused of stealing highly sought after Pokémon cards.

Police were called to a Tuwharetoa St store in Taupō after a reported break-in about 9.50pm on Tuesday.

The offender smashed a glass panel to gain entry and placed Pokémon trading cards, worth more than $2200, into bags, a police statement said today.

An eyewitness called police while taking video of a suspect walking away. Police tracked a man to a nearby bar, where he was arrested and the cards recovered.

The man is also a suspect in an incident on November 9, when Pokémon cards worth more than $500 were taken from the same store.

Those cards have not been recovered.

A 35-year-old man has been charged with burglary, shoplifting and resisting police.

He is due to appear in the Taupō District Court today.