Pokémon Trading Card Shop Allegedly Contained $1 Million Worth of Meth

A Pokémon Trading Card Game shop in Hong Kong allegedly had more than $1 million worth of Schedule 2 drug methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth, hidden in the back.

As reported by GameSpot, the South China Morning Post revealed a 28-year-old man had been arrested following the discovery of what is alleged to be 5 kilograms of crystal meth in a "staff only area" of the Pokémon card shop.

Located in the residential district of Hung Hom, the shop held Pokémon card tournaments that teenagers and children would attend to play the Pokémon TCG with friends. Police confirmed no child or teenager was involved in the purchasing the crystal meth, however.

"Storing such a large quantity of narcotics in a place where teenagers and children can visit is irresponsible and disgraceful behavior that also heightens the possible risk of teenagers and children mistakenly encountering illegal drugs," Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau inspector Liong Chun-Hin said.

Perhaps inspired by Team Rocket, Pokémon cards have long been the target of criminal endeavors but usually with thieves trying to steal them.

Tokyo police reported an unprecedented number of trading card thefts in the latter half of 2022, while an independent gaming store in Minnesota reportedly had around $250,000 worth of Pokémon merchandise stolen in February of that year. One month later, again in Tokyo, a man was arrested for allegedly launching a literal heist in order to steal the treasured cards.

Making the most of a bad situation, a trading card shop in California posted a video of thieves who stole 35,000 Pokémon cards from them in January 2024 and mocked them for not knowing what to take.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.