A member of the public would have made Detective Pikachu and Officer Jenny proud, after helping Police locate a man accused of stealing highly sought after Pokémon cards.

At 9.50pm on Tuesday 18 March, Police were called to a Tuwharetoa Street store after a reported break-in. The offender smashed a glass panel to gain entry and placed Pokémon trading cards, worth more than $2200, into bags.

A member of the public saw the suspicious activity and – prepared for trouble – called Police while taking video of a suspect walking away.

Thanks to that information, officers tracked a man to a nearby bar, where he was taken into custody and the cards recovered.

The man is also a suspect in an incident on 9 November, when Pokémon cards worth more than $500 were taken from the same store. Those cards have not been recovered.

A 35-year-old man has been charged with burglary, shoplifting and resisting Police. He is due to appear in the Taupō District Court today, 19 March.

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