Two Georgina men have been arrested in connection with a break-in and theft at a popular gaming store in Newmarket.
Police said the two suspects were apprehended on Oct. 1 after attempting to sell rare playing cards at OMG Games, 130 Bell Farm Rd., in Barrie.
Barrie police arrested two men on behalf of York Regional Police investigators, Const. James Dickson said.
“York Regional Police attended and charged two males from Georgina with possession of property obtained by crime. The items they were attempting to sell were recovered," he said.
Enter the Battlefield at 81 Davis Dr. in Newmarket was broken into on Sept. 18. Security footage showed a suspect smashing the door of the store at 2:28 a.m. and stealing valuable trading cards. The business is a popular hangout for gamers and collectors of cards like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and Warhammer cards, which were stolen.
Kris Fekete, owner of Enter the Battlefield, said the total value of the stolen rare cards is about $150,000. He said about $30,000 worth of cards was recovered.
“It’s a small percentage of the cards, but the fact that people got caught and have to deal with the consequences of it feels very good,” said Fekete. “That is the most important thing to us.”
Fekete called the police after receiving information from the OMG Games store owner. They were concerned and knew he was missing some cards. They asked him for a list of missing cards, as the cards are rare and unique. The rarity of the cards being offered for sale together raised red flags.
“It is uplifting to know the community is tight,” said Fekete. “It’s very rare to have an entire line of business, where two businesses are doing the same thing, so close to each other, can be such good friends and look out for each other so much.”
Police declined to name the suspects as they continue to investigate in the hope of recovering all outstanding cards. The men were charged with one count each of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
