Heringsdorf (dpa / mv) - An attentive pensioner discovered an interim storage facility for e-bike thieves on the island of Usedom (West Pomerania-Greifswald) and thus helped holidaymakers to get their bikes back. As a police spokesman said on Friday, the 81-year-old observed men on Thursday evening who were busy in an empty house near the beach in Heringsdorf. He called the police. Because of the many cycling holidaymakers, Usedom has been a stronghold for the theft of high-quality e-bikes in the north-east for years.
The suspected thieves fled in a car. The officers found two stolen bikes worth almost 6,000 euros in the house. Just a few days ago, seven electric bikes worth more than 18,000 euros disappeared from several places in Heringsdorf, including the two that were found. Traces were secured at these and they would be returned to the owners. According to the police, e-bikes worth almost 54,000 euros were stolen in the region in May.
Last year, e-bikes worth 420,000 euros were stolen on the island of Usedom, which corresponds to about a third of the damage caused by all stolen e-bikes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The police responded with additional forces on Usedom. The investigators advise holidaymakers to leave their bikes in closed rooms such as holiday apartments or bicycle shelters in the evening.
