London police target Brick lane market & arrest seven suspected bike thieves

Seven men were arrested in London yesterday as part of an operation targeting a market stall on Brick lane, a notorious haunt of bike thieves. The operation was conducted jointly by the City of London police supported by the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, Transport for London and Tower Hamlets Council.

The men were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and money laundering and are currently in custody at a central London police station. The market stall in Brick Lane is believed to be a location where stolen bikes were bought and sold on to others at knock-down prices.

20 suspected stolen bicycles were seized as part of the operation.

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.”

He added: “People that are buying expensive bicycles for a fraction of their value could well be handling stolen goods. This is a criminal offence. If the price of a bike seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

There were 375 bikes stolen in London’s Square Mile between April 2014 and March 2015.