Police in London have arrested seven men today, who are suspected of being part of a criminal bike theft network at the notorious Brick Lane market.
As part of a co-ordinated operation between the City of London, Metropolitan and British Transport Police forces the men, aged between 21 and 49, were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and money laundering and are currently in custody at a central London police station.
The Brick Lane market stall, police say, is believed to be where stolen bikes are bought and sold at "well below the legitimate price". The 20 bikes retrieved, which all had high value items like Brooks saddles, will be checked for bike security marking or smartwater labelling and officers will attempt to contact their owners.
Detective Inspector Doug Blackwood, of the City of London Police, said: "Today’s arrests show that the trade in stolen bikes will not be tolerated and we are working with our partners to dismantle these businesses.
"I would also like to tell those people that are buying expensive bicycles for a fraction of their value that you could well be handling stolen goods.
"This is a criminal offence and the old adage applies, if the price of a bike seems too good to be true, then it probably is."
Brick Lane, in East London, is notoriously a place where stolen bikes end up. Last month one man found someone attempt to sell his own stolen bike to a stallholder there, and managed to get his bike back.
Blackwood added today's action won't be the last of its kind, and the joint operation on the stolen bike trade will continue in the coming months. He urged anyone with information on the theft of stolen bikes to call 101, or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
There were 375 bikes stolen in the Square Mile between April 2014 and March 2015. You can register your own bike for free at www.bikeregister.com.
Been for a medical today. My height was measured at 178.5cm which translates as 5 feet ten and a quarter. I'm chuffed to bits, I thought I was only...
I've just told the news to colleagues in a team meeting - none of them are cyclists but they all had loved the cafe.
Having took the wrong exit off a roundabout while taking my HGV1 back in the early 90s, I was told by the Examiner that it was not a test in my...
The key word is reasonable. I'm not sure if it was from common law or enshrined later, but public bodies have a duty to act reasonably....
We just need to hear from Richard "The Hamster" Hammond (he's not a real hamster) and that'd be all the opinions that matter on the topic of speed...
Is the microphone any good?
Exactly my view. The old cheaper Shimano button wasn't great (and even then it wasn't awful) but the Campag one is much better.
True, but I imagine that (given headtube angle) forward and backward flex translates to at least a tiny amount of upward and downward movement, and...
According to Tobes of Cold Dark North we're still just in Fool's Spring.
I love reviews like this, because they make me feel a lot better about how much I've spent on bicycles (probably about this much total for the four...