Aachen (dpa/lnw) – A trial against four men for commercially receiving stolen bicycles begins on Wednesday (2 p.m.) before the Aachen regional court. They are said to have resold bicycles worth more than 70,000 euros. The defendants are said to have committed a total of 22 crimes between August 2020 and April 2023. The men are between 32 and 51 years old and one is in custody.
Bicycle thefts are common. Last year, 62,400 bicycles were stolen across North Rhine-Westphalia, an increase of more than 13 percent compared to the previous year. Only 5,300 thefts were solved.
The gang is said to have stolen, among other things, e-bikes, e-scooters, pedelecs, racing bikes and mountain bikes or stolen them with the help of third parties. Commercial stealing is punishable by a prison sentence of up to ten years. Nine trial days are planned until mid-January.
The Aachen police have set up a special investigation team. The number of bicycle thefts in the city fell from 2,900 in 2021 to 2,300 in 2022. Stolen bikes were recovered with the help of GPS trackers, among other things. The investigators say that a quick report with precise information makes sense.
2023-10-18 00:23:20
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