In Japan, the police arrested a duo consisting of a mother and her son. They had purchased counterfeit Pokémon mats cheaply in China and sold them at a high price in Japan. They earned almost $20,000 in just one year.
This was the family business: In Kyoto, Japan, the police took down a duo consisting of a mother and her son:
- The 23-year-old son works in an office
- His mother is 49 years old and works part-time
Their business model was that they imported counterfeit mats featuring Pokémon designs from China. The son took care of this. The mats were then sold on second-hand websites, similar to our eBay. Mom was responsible for the shipping and delivery of the counterfeits. A mother-son operation:
- The counterfeit mats were purchased cheaply in China for 700 yen (about 5.56)
- The mats were sold in Japan for 3000 yen (24.25€) – a decent markup
The mats featured designs from the Pokémon trading card game.
The 20 euros profit accumulated over a year to nearly 2 million yen. That is about 16,165.08 euros.
When the police tracked them down, both quickly confessed:
- The son said: He did it for the money.
- The mother said: She got involved because she wanted to help her son earn money
Since the arrest was made by the police of the district where the airport is located, it is believed that the two unusual Pokémon thieves were caught when customs discovered a shipment from China and investigated.
This is not the first time we report on MeinMMO about Pokémon in connection with crimes. In 2019, there was a case where a man wanted to play Pokémon GO in a park at 2 a.m.
But this turned fatal for him, as in his main job, he was not a decent trainer but a drug dealer:
