A 28-year-old man has been arrested after taking part in the most Mission Impossible-style attempt to steal Pokémon cards. Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department apprehended Kensuke Nakanishi after the man apparently used rope from the roof of a six-storey building to lower himself into a store to steal about 80 cards and some cash.
The young man was caught after CCTV in the area showed he was nearby the scene of the crime on March 23. Nakanishi attached himself to a railing on the roof of the building the store was located in and, without a safety harness, lowered himself to the store's window where he broke in using a "tool" according to Mainichi.
When inside the thief stole around 80 trading cards, from not only Pokémon but also Yu-Gi-Oh! too. In total, the cards he picked up were worth about 1 million yen, or a bit over $9000k. He then also stole a bunch of cash which added on another $2,370k to his sum. According to the report, his motives were clear when stealing these cards - "I did it to pay off a debt". Well that, you know, sucks that you're in debt but stealing a Charizard isn't going to get you anywhere evidently.
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His acrobatic skills to allow him to get into the store, apparently come from a history of rock climbing. When talking to police, Nakanishi apparently said that he had taken up rock climbing in school, so he "wasn't afraid of heights".
Well when he's released after serving his sentence, it's probably a good thing to go looking for a job to pay off any debts he still has. Considering his work up until now we wonder if Team Rocket is hiring - he might fit in well in that organisation. Thanks, Kotaku for bringing the story to our attention.
Featured Image Credit: Paramount / The Pokemon Company