Over seven tons of fake Pokémon trading cards bound for Western Europe were intercepted earlier this week by Chinese officials in a Shanghai airport. News regarding Pokémon cards has captured headlines throughout much of this year, due in large part to stock scarcity that scalpers quickly took advantage of in any way possible. The ongoing card shortage, thus, engendered a reseller market boom that continues to spiral out of control.
In fact, the situation is so bad that scenes of violence have broken out at retailers stocking collectible trading cards on more than one occasion. A Walmart shopping center in May, for example, opened its doors to a group of grown men who practically raced to the trading card aisle to get their hands on a fresh stock of Pokémon cards. And police in Brooksfield, Washington were called to a Target that very same month following a sports card-related dispute wherein one man pulled his gun after being attacked by a group of shoppers. This event served as the catalyst behind Target's decision to suspend the sale of collectible Pokémon cards. Yet, it seems scalpers have found another way of gaming the system.
As relayed by Nintendo Life, a report from Chinese outlet Yicai Global claims officials at the Pudong Airport in Shanghai recently seized 20 boxes of counterfeit Pokémon trading cards, the haul weighing in at a staggering 7.6 tons. The massive collection of fake cards were shipping from an unspecified company in the port city of Qingdao; according to Yicai Global's reporting, the nearly two dozen boxes would've landed in the Netherlands had Chinese authorities not intercepted the shipment. Interestingly, the China state-affiliated publication went on to note this counts among the "biggest fake IP hauls in recent years."
Had this collection of cards landed in Western Europe as planned, its would've no doubt been sold online to unsuspecting Pokémon card collectors eager to avoid the hassle of shopping brought on by the ongoing stock shortage. With fraudulent behavior like this making the rounds globally, fans would do well to only purchase trading cards from reputable storefronts.
It's not all bad news in the world of collectible trading cards, though. Earlier this month, Pokémon The Card Game's new Fusion Strike set went on sale, serving as the eighth expansion for Sword & Shield.
Source: Yicai Global/Twitter via Nintendo Life