I Like To Ride My Bicycle: Huge Haul Of Suspected Stolen Cycles Found During Raid

Police investigating specialist bike thieves seized 118 suspected stolen cycles when they raided an address in Hackney.

Officers from the Central East BCU launched the probe after stolen bikes were advertised for sale online.

They executed a warrant at the property on the morning of Sunday, August 2 and found the huge haul, with an estimated value of more than £30,000.

Officers are working to establish how many of them are stolen, and hope to reunite as many of them as possible with their rightful owners.

Two men, aged 21 and 60 were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, and possession of criminal property and bailed pending further enquiries.

An investigation was launched and the warrant arranged after eleven people reported finding bikes that had been stolen from them being advertised for sale on social media.

Sergeant Jo Stephens said: “This was a significant seizure of bicycles we strongly believe have been stolen – either in burglaries, robberies, or from the street - for the purpose of selling on for a profit to unsuspecting buyers.

“While the internet is a good place to easily advertise and sell property, the informal nature of the transaction means that people also use certain websites to sell stolen goods quickly and anonymously, with little trace."

Sergeant Stephens added: “We are making enquiries to try and find out who the bikes belong to so we can return them to their owners.

“We would urge anyone who has a bicycle to get it security-marked and registered at BikeRegister – this helps us return stolen property to its owner, and it also helps us bring prosecutions.”