On Aug 4, 10:38*pm, Basil Jet wrote:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...e-23863285-.do

"One man was recently fined more than £1,000 for handling stolen goods."

A grand! They'd only have to sell 10 or twenty bikes to make that back.

Indeedy. As the Hammersmith copper quoted in the article says, "Pedal
cycle theft appears to have become the crime of choice for many low-
end criminals because of the quick reward and low risk of being
caught", before going on to say that they're trying to do something
about it.

Part of the problem is that there are enough people in London who're
quite willing to buy 'second hand' bicycles which they know full well
are stolen - they're not all being shipped off to eastern Europe by
any means. It's such a scumbaggy thing to do, stealing a bicycle, that
most basic of conveyance - that said, the bikes that are being
targeted are hardly basic ones (e.g. ultra-light and ultra-expensive
carbon fibre frames etc). There's undoubtedly something to be said for
having an unflashy steed that doesn't turn eyes.