In the southeast of Munich, the number of stolen bicycles has skyrocketed recently. In particular, expensive e-bikes, racing bikes and mountain bikes are stolen from the basements of apartment buildings or residential complexes, as the police announced on Thursday. Since mid-January, the Commissariat 53 responsible for burglary offenses has already registered several dozen such cases; Volker Hemmert, head of the commissariat, estimated the damage at around 50,000 euros.
Hemmert speaks of organized crime because the bikes appear to be stolen in a targeted manner, as if to order. “As a rule, there is no single perpetrator at work,” he explains, “but it is incredibly difficult to grasp how many perpetrators we are dealing with.”
The districts of Ramersdorf, Giesing and Harlaching, all of which are within the area of responsibility of Police Inspectorate 23, are particularly affected by the series of thefts. Its deputy boss Helmut Biermeier has found that the perpetrators often choose new buildings for their thieving raids with weakly secured cellar shacks that can be easily levered out or even simply pushed open. The time periods are completely different. Only on Thursday night were five basement compartments broken into in the Balanstraße area.
The crime locations are obviously related to the quick connection to the A8 and A995 motorways. According to the police’s findings so far, the stolen bikes will be taken away with vans as quickly as possible. Hemmert and Biermeier are therefore appealing to the population to report suspiciously parked transport vehicles.
The two police officers recommend securing expensive bicycles with the appropriate quality locks and taking high-quality accessories such as on-board computers or batteries into the apartment. It also helps the investigators if bikes are registered or at least data is noted. Photos also make the search easier.