A Moonee Ponds games store has been hit by burglars for the second time in months, with CCTV capturing two men forcing their way inside and making off with about $15,000 worth of trading card stock.
Victoria Police said the pair broke into the Puckle St business about 3am on Monday, kicking in the front door before climbing over the counter and stealing various items, including Pokemon cards.
Investigators said the stolen goods were loaded into a large black box before the offenders fled in a dark-blue Mini hatch.
The burglary was captured in security footage shared online by Mind Games store owner Lucas Hipkins, who dubbed the pair “Tweedledee” and “Tweedledum”.
“Well, we were robbed again at 3.30 in the morning on Monday night,” Mr Hipkins said in the video.
“These two TCG (trading card game) bandits rock up to our Moonee Ponds store and they took a bunch of our One Piece and Pokemon stock.”
The CCTV shows one man in an orange high-vis jacket and another in a black hoodie under a yellow high-vis vest as they enter the store and move quickly behind the counter.
Mr Hipkins said one of the men appeared unconcerned about being identified on camera, with part of his face exposed.
“This guy likes being on camera, so that’s nice at least,” he said.
In the footage, one offender appears to remove his hood after getting inside, while the other drops to his knees on the counter as the pair grab stock and attempt to gather it up before the security alarm sounds.
“Tweedledee gets on his knees, which is the least he can do considering he’s robbing us before running away from our security alarm,” Mr Hipkins said.
As the pair continue rifling through the store, one pulls a camera from the wall.
“We get to see his face again here, and his shining bald spot and bum,” Mr Hipkins said.
“Tweedledum really needs to invest in a belt with the money he makes from our Pokemon cards.”
Mr Hipkins said they still escaped with a significant amount of trading cards while leaving the store damaged and in disarray.
“Tweedledee just fumbles all the stock that he was trying to steal, and they do make off into the night with a good amount of our Pokemon and One Piece, which is just tragic,” he said.
“They do a bunch of damage to the store, and they make a mess of things. Taking all the stock and it makes it hard for us to share the joy of Pokemon and One Piece.”
Mr Hipkins said the theft had disrupted the business, including stock set aside for customers.
“Heck, we’ve even got free cards which they thought about stealing and it’s just a mess,” he said.
“We’re gonna restock though and keep on selling so come in soon.”
Police said detectives from the Moonee Valley Crime Investigation Unit were investigating and aware of the CCTV footage.
The latest burglary comes after the same store was targeted in April. CCTV showed an armed burglar using a golf club to smash his way into the shop before stealing more than $3000 worth of Pokemon cards.
That break-in came just months after police dismantled an organised crime syndicate linked to a string of robberies at collectable stores across Melbourne, although police had not linked the Moonee Ponds incident to that spree.
Anyone who witnessed the latest burglary, or has CCTV, dashcam footage or other information, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.