He Thief who cut a hole in the fence of Noah Rosen and Suzanne Carlsen to steal her bicycles probably did not expect what happened next.
Rosen and Carlsen direct Vélocolour, a Toronto store known for painting high -end bicycles.
The couple says that stolen bicycles, which modified with love, have a combined value of more than $ 5,000. They did not plan to let them go without persecution.
“There is a sentimental value, but also only a straight cost. And we were not prepared to lose so much money and then have to replace them,” Rosen said.
The thief got into the wrong cyclists, who established a sting operation to recover their bicycles, a solution that the police do not recommend, but some Torontonians resort to bicycle thefts remain a generalized problem.
The robbery
It all started last Friday, when the couple worked in their store. Outside, a security camera captured the culprit by cutting his fence, where the bicycles were blocked and traveling with them.
“I started crying because it was like my baby,” said Carlsen, whose bicycle wears memories of a recent walk through the mountains of Kyrguistan.
The couple shared the terrible experience with their great social networks with the hopes of other cyclists. and stores He would recognize his unique bicycles if they are shown.
The first track of the whereabouts of the bicycles came on Sunday, when Carlsen saw an advertisement on Facebook Marketplace for a Surly Bridge Club that seemed familiar.
“I click on him and it was my exact bike,” she says.
The couple reported the theft of the Toronto Police, who, according to them, would not help without evidence that the bicycle in the ad was one of the stolen. It was then that they decided to take the matter in their own hands.
Toronto Police could not confirm the couple’s account before the publication.
The sting
With the help of friends, the couple says they organized a meeting with the seller and hid in a alley until they had the opportunity to face it.
“I went directly on his face and said: ‘You stole our bicycles,” Rosen said.
The couple says they recovered the bicycle and quickly took a photo of the seller as he escaped.
Then they sent a message to the seller, saying that they had their photo and telephone number as leverage to recover the second stolen bicycle.
The couple says the seller sent a “sincere” response.
“I’m really sorry. I don’t want any violence … I left the bicycle down the street and the key is under the front tire,” Carlsen replied the seller.
Carlsen says she is still surprised to have managed to bring her stolen bicycles home in just 48 hours.
More than a thousand bicycles have been stolen in Toronto so far this year, according to police data. The number of bicycle theft has gradually decreased over the years, but shoots during the summer months, according to the data.
Toronto Police says they advised the couple against the sting for concern for their safety, since the interaction could become aggressive or violent.
“Not everyone wants to meet the person who has taken their things. You have to decide where your comfort level is,” Rosen said.
If your bike is steal, the police recommend informing it and including the serial number, a unique number that is generally recorded in the frame that can identify a bicycle even if it is modified.
That is the great food to take for Carlsen, which did not have its serial number and could not show that the bicycle that was sold online was his, since he did not have an updated photo that showed how he modified it.
“I feel incredibly lucky because there are so many people out there that they do not receive stolen bicycles.”
