VANCOUVER — Up until someone started using bear spray on unsuspecting victims trying to sell their Pokémon trading cards online, Vancouver police say they weren’t aware of the resurgent collectible trend.
Sgt. Ryan Campbell says thefts occurred on five consecutive days from March 23, with victims saying they were bear-sprayed and robbed after arranging meetings on Facebook Marketplace.
Campbell says officers from the major crime section arranged a sting operation by posting a card for sale online and successfully lured a suspect, before arranging a meeting with the man.
He says the suspect, who is in his 20s and is believed to have acted alone, was taken into custody on March 27 without incident.
Campbell says police recovered two cards, valued at about $2,000 together, while the combined value of the stolen cards is about $6,000.
Officers haven’t completed charge assessment yet, but Campbell says there will be at least four counts of robbery.
He says the investigation is ongoing, and the suspect has been released on conditions.
Police say that in each robbery, someone contacted the sellers online and arranged a meeting in a public space, where the sellers were bear-sprayed after being asked to produce their cards for inspection.
In one of the incidents, the victim managed to chase down the suspect and recover their card.
Campbell told a news conference on Thursday that there has been a rise Pokémon card thefts in the Lower Mainland, but the phenomenon wasn’t on the police radar until recently.
“You know, I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m really unfamiliar with Pokémon cards up until now.”
Some rare Pokémon cards sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some cards for sale on Marketplace in the Vancouver region are priced at more than $10,000.
Stores that specialize in the cards have been ramping up security in B.C. and elsewhere amid a spate of robberies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.
Nono Shen, The Canadian Press
