A brazen cereal-box bandit got busted after trying to swipe Pokémon cards and other collectibles by stuffing them inside breakfast boxes.
Police in Brea, Calif., said the repeat shoplifter “had a very specific” method of sneakily sticking the trading cards and other items into empty cereal boxes to slip past checkout.
“Unfortunately for the suspect, our officers’ investigation was SUPER EFFECTIVE,” the Brea Police Department wrote in an Instagram post. “We were able to recover the stolen merchandise and take the individual into custody without incident.”
Photos from the bust showed stacks of Pokémon cards next to more than a dozen ripped-open boxes of Honeycomb, Kix, Corn Flakes and Cheerios.
Another photo showed dozens of other items presumably recovered from the shoplifter, including electric razors, calculators, shampoo bottles, ink cartridges for a printer and ladies undergarments, among others.
The California Post reached out to the Brea Police Department for further comment.
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“While the suspect was busy trying to ‘CATCH EM ALL,’ they forgot that we’re committed to doing the same when it comes to organized retail theft,” police added in their post.
Viewers on social cheered the bust while Pokémon fans marveled at the haul.
“Where were they even at that had that much Pokemon out for people to grab??” one wrote.
“You should donate the Pokémon cards to the poor aka me,” another joked.
“How much for the Pokemon cards? Asking for a friend,” a third quipped.
In January, thieves stole a $300,000 set of Pokémon cards and other collectibles in two robberies in Los Angeles — including a brazen caught-on-camera heist using an electric saw.
