Alleged Pokemon card theft syndicate leaders face court
Detectives need more time to build their case against the accused leaders of an organised crime syndicate suspected of stealing $50,000 worth of collectable trading cards.
Daniel Cleghorn and co-accused Brandon Hart faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday after being charged in February over a raft of commercial burglaries.
Police allege the pair were the main offenders from a group which stole six cryptocurrency ATMs from businesses and ransacked three collectable card stores across the city.
Stolen cars were used to carry out the burglaries, police allege.
Roughly $50,000 worth of Pokemon, Disney Lorcana, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: The Gathering, Dragon Ball Z, AFL and NBA trading cards were uncovered in raids.
Other seized items included five allegedly stolen firearms, about 100 allegedly stolen car keys, ammunition, a pill press machine and stolen power tools.
Police described the haul as an "an Aladdin's cave of items".
Rare Pokemon cards can sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars.
A 1998 Pikachu card was bought by Youtuber and boxer Logan Paul for $US5.275 million in 2021, a record for most expensive privately sold Pokemon trading card.
On Friday, a six-week adjournment was granted as detectives continue to gather evidence.
"This offending is alleged to have occurred across 24 separate incidents and, as such, there are a number of statements and triple-zero calls that were made," a prosecutor told the court.
"At this stage, 88 statements and seven triple-zero calls remain outstanding."
Cleghorn has been charged with 14 counts of burglary, being a prohibited person in possession of a trafficable quantity of firearms, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and handling stolen goods.
Hart was charged with five counts of burglary, three counts of motor vehicle theft, theft, driving without a licence, possessing methamphetamine and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Two other men from Reservoir were arrested and released pending further investigation, police said.
Cleghorn will remain on bail and Hart in custody at the Melbourne Remand Centre until their next scheduled court appearance on June 13.
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