A Pokémon card collector tracked down his own stolen merchandise after the alleged thieves reused his listing photos.
Emilio Kihien, a collector in Vancouver, had arranged to sell three valuable cards on Facebook Marketplace last week. A prospective buyer came to his home and appeared to complete the purchase, handing over what Kihien later discovered was $4,000 in counterfeit cash before fleeing with the cards.
Kihien told CTV News that he tried to stop the suspects by chasing them and grabbing their car as it drove away. “I put the cards in his hand. As soon as they’re in his hand, he just starts running,” he said. He added that he contacted police but was initially told little could be done. “I called the cops, I let them know what happened, they kind of let me know we can’t really do that much,” he said.
Days later, friends alerted Kihien to a suspicious new online listing. The allegedly stolen cards had appeared for sale, and Kihien recognized them immediately because the sellers had made a critical error: they used the exact same photographs from his original Facebook Marketplace post.
“I’m just thinking, you know what, these guys can’t be the most intelligent of people,” he told the news outlet.
Kihien and his friends devised a plan to arrange another meet-up with the new sellers as a ploy. They set a meeting for Aug. 13 at Metropolis at Metrotown, a shopping mall in Burnaby, British Columbia. There, Kihien and his friends confronted and apprehended the alleged thieves, holding them until police arrived.
The group used sunglasses capable of recording video to document the encounter. “The mission was: Hold these guys down until the cops get here and get my cards back,” Kihien said. He explained that he wanted to resolve the situation without violence.
Burnaby RCMP confirmed that one adult and one youth were initially arrested. Cpl. Michael Kalanj described the scene officers encountered: “It was a bit of mayhem going on for our officers to figure out what actually happened.”
The police department is continuing its investigation. Kalanj urged the public to avoid similar vigilante actions, warning of serious risks. “Vigilantism can only cause problems because no one knows who has weapons,” he said. “Even as the victim, if you show up and you harm someone now you’re looking at charges as well.”
Kihien successfully recovered his cards and is now sharing his experience as a cautionary tale for others conducting online transactions. He recommended that buyers and sellers consider using designated safe exchange locations, including police stations, for in-person meetings.
“I had no issues with the Pokémon community before this, no issues with Marketplace meet-ups, but you really never know,” he said.
In the viral moment that sparked widespread attention, Kihien’s story highlighted both the booming resale market for Pokémon cards and the risks of peer-to-peer online sales. The collectibles have drawn major headlines in recent years, including Logan Paul’s $5.275 million purchase of a Pikachu Illustrator card in July 2021, which set a Guinness World Record and later sold at auction for $16.492 million.
Kihien’s case is expected to proceed through the Burnaby RCMP’s ongoing investigation.