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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/260921-Mulvey-Market-.jpg\")
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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
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The owner of Mulvey Market in South Osborne says roughly $70,000 worth of Pok\u00e9mon products were stolen over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night finished, we locked up, did the usual thing, and then we went home and just before midnight, I got a call from the landlord and they said the alarm had been tripped, and that someone was seen leaving the market with bags,\u201d Hyseni said.<\/p>\n
He was sent security footage and rushed back to the market, where he found much of his Pok\u00e9mon inventory gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the high-end stuff, including all the singles and the slabs (professionally graded cards) and collector booster boxes,\u201d said Hyseni, who posted on Instagram on Saturday morning in front of empty shelves and display cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge hit. It\u2019s been pretty rough. My biggest thing is shock an disappointment right now, and disrespect, because this market has been around since 2001, and I\u2019ve owned it since 2022, and its become a really nice place for people to come out and hang out, bring their kids \u2014 especially when it comes to Pokemon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The theft, which include sealed boxes worth several thousands of dollars, followed a trade night at the market, where collectors gather to swap cards with other collectors and vendors.<\/p>\n
Hyseni said he doesn\u2019t know who stole the merchandise, but surveillance footage captured a hooded person inside the market.<\/p>\n
With only one entrance, Hyseni said he is now combing through hours of footage to determine who entered the market but was never seen leaving before closing.<\/p>\n
Pok\u00e9mon, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has experienced a resurgence in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand and scarcity have sent prices for some cards and sealed products soaring, while shops carrying the sought-after merchandise have increasingly become targets for thieves.<\/p>\n
Hyseni said there is only so much card shops can do. He is hardly alone.<\/p>\n
Two weeks earlier, thieves broke into an East Kildonan collectibles shop and cleaned out its Pok\u00e9mon inventory.<\/p>\n
Terri\u2019s Trinkets and Toys on Larsen Avenue was broken into Sept. 8, with thieves punching through a grate and then the store\u2019s bathroom wall to reach the storefront.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew where everything was that they wanted; they took all of the good stuff,\u201d owner Terri Settle said. \u201cI have a lot of Pokemon cards, a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, a lot of hockey cards. I have a lot of costume jewelry, so they took all of the necklaces, all of the rings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thieves made off with about $6,000 worth of merchandise, including the store\u2019s entire Pok\u00e9mon inventory \u2014 roughly 7,000 cards \u2014 along with toys, Lego, jewelry, video games, a debit machine and a personal laptop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CHARLES KRUPA \/ ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Demand and scarcity of have sent prices for some Pok\u00e9mon cards and sealed products soaring, while shops carrying the sought-after merchandise have increasingly become targets for thieves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like the No. 1 seller for every shop right now, and it\u2019s so tough to get these days,\u201d Curtis Howson, who owns First Row Collectibles, told the Free Press at the time about Pok\u00e9mon cards.<\/p>\n Howson\u2019s shop has also been broken into multiple times, with thieves targeting its Pok\u00e9mon inventory.<\/p>\n In all three cases, the owners believe their Pok\u00e9mon cards were specifically targeted.<\/p>\n Like Settle and Howson, Hyseni doesn\u2019t carry specialized collectibles insurance, saying the cost is prohibitive. He said he has been quoted premiums of about $5,000 per month to insure his merchandise.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just not feasible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Despite the loss, Hyseni is vowing to bounce back.<\/p>\n Word of the theft has spread across Pok\u00e9mon social media groups locally and beyond, while some of the stolen professionally graded cards can be identified through their unique certification numbers if they surface for sale.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a hit, but it\u2019s not going to cripple,\u201d he said. \u201cIt isn\u2019t going to cripple me in any way, shape or form. So the next thing is just rebuilding. Order more stuff, get more product in through the doors, and just create better relationships with everybody that comes through the door.\u201d<\/p>\n Hyseni says he\u2019s offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the culprit\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Scott Billeck Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade\u2019s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.\u00a0 Read more about Scott<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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