Police question 11 suspects over theft of shared bicycles
Components and parts of over 10,000 shared bikes were found in an open area.
A criminal gang stole and sold more than 10,000 shared bicycles within two months, involving a total of over 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million), the Shanghai Public Security Bureau said on Monday.
Jiangzhen Police Station in the Pudong New Area began an investigation after receiving a report from a person in charge of bike-sharing. The caller stated that over a hundred shared bicycles had been dismantled and components and parts were found in an open space.
Three people were arrested outside Shanghai soon after. They admitted their offence and provided information about another eight suspects.
They said they were working at scrap recycling stations. At first, they targeted bikes parked in remote areas. By selling components and parts of bikes to factories, they could get 150 to 200 yuan per bike.
Then, to get more money, they hired additional hands and stole bikes from warehouses. They cut the locks with GPS trackers to evade tracking, creating the illusion that the bikes had not been moved.
The police said the eleven people were all caught and the case was under further investigation.
Over 10,000 shared bikes were stolen by the criminal gang within two months.
