The story became known after a seller bought a batch of equipment from Sega's office in Brentford at auction for £10,000. Among the devices were Nintendo dev kits and test cartridges. The man claims he checked the legality of the deal and acted in good faith.
But on July 14, 2025, his house was searched, and he was detained on charges of "money laundering." Police seized all consoles and cartridges. A month before that, a private detective hired by Sega tried to lure information from him under the guise of a buyer. At the same time, the search warrant turned out to be incomplete, and Sega itself and a private firm were among those authorized to seize items.
According to the seller, the company mistakenly sold valuable and secret devices. Instead of admitting the mistake, Sega resorted to силовые методы. This version is supported by the fact that the police took exclusively dev kits, leaving cables and other electronics.
Since then, neither Sega nor the police have given official comments. The seller considers himself a victim drawn into the dirty games of a large corporation.