‘Cereal’ offender busted for sneaky shoplifting trick at grocery store checkout

He couldn’t escape in time.

A bold thief was caught attempting to steal Pokémon cards and other collectibles by concealing them inside cereal boxes.

Authorities in Brea, California, reported that the habitual shoplifter had developed a “very specific” tactic of hiding trading cards and other items in empty cereal boxes to evade checkout detection.

“Unfortunately for the suspect, our officers’ investigation was SUPER EFFECTIVE,” stated the Brea Police Department in an Instagram post. “We successfully recovered the stolen merchandise and apprehended the individual without any issues.”

Images from the operation displayed heaps of Pokémon cards alongside over a dozen torn cereal boxes, including Honeycomb, Kix, Corn Flakes, and Cheerios.

A further image showed a variety of other items believed to be retrieved from the thief, such as electric razors, calculators, shampoo bottles, printer ink cartridges, and women’s undergarments, among others.

The California Post sought additional comments from the Brea Police Department.

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“While the suspect was busy trying to ‘CATCH EM ALL,’ they forgot that we’re committed to doing the same when it comes to organized retail theft,” police further commented in their post.

On social media, people applauded the arrest while Pokémon enthusiasts expressed amazement at the collection.

“Where could they have been that had so much Pokémon stock available?” one user asked.

“You should donate the Pokémon cards to the poor, aka me,” someone else humorously suggested.

“How much for the Pokémon cards? Asking for a friend,” another joked.

In January, thieves stole $300,000 worth of Pokémon cards and other collectibles across two thefts in Los Angeles, which included a daring heist caught on camera involving an electric saw.