Trading card robberies surge across GTA; stores beef up security after $200K+ losses

Two Ajax businesses lost more than $200,000 in merchandise when five suspects broke into their stores on the same morning in mid-June. Durham Regional Police are searching for the suspects and released photos of them in hopes of identification.

On June 15 at about 5:40 a.m., five people broke into Mintink Trading Cards and Live Experience on Salem Road North and stole high-value collectible trading cards before fleeing in a white Honda Civic. A short time later, the same group broke into We Got Gamez, a video game store on Kingston Road West. Both vehicles fled from police.

John Amendola, founder and CEO of Mintink Trading Cards, estimates more than $100,000 worth of product was stolen in his store alone. He's experienced numerous break-ins, attempted break-ins, mail fraud, and an armed robbery over the years. After this latest incident, he installed new shutter systems and double doors in vestibules at his Ajax and Vaughan locations.

Amendola described the shift in criminal targeting: "You can walk in my store with a Charizard (Pokémon card) and walk out with a mortgage payment, in some cases a Ferrari. Criminals understand that they are taking something that has instant cash liquidity. The trading card world is like the jewelry business now."

Kamal Lalli, owner of We Got Gamez, experienced his first robbery in two decades of business. He estimates between $100,000 and $150,000 in product were stolen, including a collection he'd picked up from a Northern Ontario collector just days before. Security camera footage shows thieves walking boxes of trading cards out the door at about 6 a.m.

Lalli said he feels violated but is grateful no one was injured and that the community has supported him since the break-in. He's upgraded security but wants to avoid turning the store into "Alcatraz." Police say the suspects remain at large.