Cycle Thief to Pay Back £6000

Prosecuted for Multiple Bike Theft and Online Resale

A 20-year-old man from Hammersmith who was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment in July has had over £6000 confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday 22 July after pleading guilty to money laundering between 13/09/10 and 25/03/11.

He was also sentenced to three months imprisonment for three additional fraud offences to run concurrently.

The confiscation hearing took place on 14 December at Isleworth Crown Court where the judge ordered that £6141.40 be confiscated, which must be paid within six months or serve a further six months in prison in addition to the confiscation order still having to be paid. A further £790 compensation is to be paid to a victim who had their bike stolen which has never been recovered.

This is the first confiscation order obtained for cycle crime offences and follows an extensive financial investigation by detectives from the joint Metropolitan Police Service's and Transport for London's (TfL) Safer Transport Command (STC) Payback Unit and the TfL-funded Cycle Task Force, after identifying the man as being involved in the sale of stolen bicycles.

The STC Payback Unit began their investigation after officers identified the man, who was known to police for bike theft, selling stolen bikes online. He was arrested by officers from the Cycle Task Force in possession of 10 bicycles on 13 September 2010. Five of the bikes were confirmed as stolen and returned to their owners. He attempted to convince the officers that he was the legitimate owner by producing a receipt for one of the bikes, which was later proved to be fake.

On 23 March 2011, whilst the man was on bail, officers from the Payback Unit searched his home address, after they identified further bikes being sold online. They found two stolen bikes, a forged receipt as well as stolen identity documents including foreign passports. He was not at the address at the time. The following day he was arrested, and officers carried out a second search and found an additional two brand new boxed Brompton Bikes, which had been stolen from the Brompton factory in Brentford the previous week.

Chief Superintendent Sultan Taylor, Safer Transport Command, said, "This man is no longer profiting from cycle theft as a result of the work of the STC Payback Unit and Cycle Task Force. We are committed to tackling cycle theft in the capital and will continue to use all legal powers to seize assets gained through criminal activity."

27 July 2010