Wyomissing police are seeking to identify two individuals in connection with the brazen theft of a limited-edition manga playing card worth as much as $8,000 from a Berkshire Mall store.<\/p>\n
The theft occurred on Aug. 28 \u2013 practically under the noise of an employee at Key Items Collectible, Wyomissing, investigators said.<\/p>\n
At least two people were involved, Detective Sgt. Kevin Quinter said after reviewing the surveillance camera footage. One of them distracted an employee while another reached across the counter and snatched the card from the unlocked case, he said.<\/p>\n
In a flash, the PSA 10 Sabo Red Manga Alt Art \u2014 from the One Piece \u201cCarrying on His Will\u201d card game set based on the popular anime series \u2014 was gone. Reportedly, fewer than 2,000 of the cards were produced.<\/p>\n
Detectives obtained still images of the two potential suspects.<\/p>\n
Quinter said the owner registered the serial number of the collectible card on a database. The police department\u2019s social media post has been widely shared \u2014 some by the store\u2019s customers who are outraged by the audacity of the thieves \u2014 so it will be nearly impossible for the thieves to cash in on the heist in the greater Berks County area, if that was their intent, according to the investigator.<\/p>\n
The card was graded by the Professional Sports Authenticator, which means experts have checked if the item is real and given it a score for its physical condition and a security number. The merchant alerted PSA that the card was stolen, which means savvy buyers would have this information.<\/p>\n
If the card is removed from its protective case, its value would diminish significantly. But someone \u2014 perhaps acquaintances of the thieves \u2014 stands to make thousands of dollars for information that leads to an arrest in this case.<\/p>\n