Bicycle deal was too good to be true: Kamloops RCMP

A Kamloops man who was stopped by the RCMP with a stolen bike appears to be the victim of a con himself.

Two high-end mountain bikes worth a combined total of $18,000 were reported missing from a vehicle parked on the 100-block of Lorne Street on Thursday, Oct. 5 at about 9:30 a.m.

By that time, at 7:35 a.m., in the 600-block of Seymour Street, an RCMP foot patrol unit had already spotted a man on a high-end mountain bike with a cut lock still attached to its wheel.

The man denied that he owned the bike and police seized it.

On Saturday, Aug. 7, around 5:15 p.m., the second bike was spotted by members of the Targeted Enforcement Unit who were on foot patrol in the Victoria Street West area.

They stopped a man riding a bike they thought was the second one that was stolen, which turned out to be the case. The man was released, pending further investigation.

“The rider on the second bike claimed to have purchased it for $2,000 a couple of days earlier and admitted to police that the deal seemed too good to be true,” Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn said in a news release.

“Luckily, thanks to the proactive patrols and the information provided to police, the bikes were returned to their rightful owner. Unfortunately for the person who bought the second bike, they’re out of pocket for the stolen goods. If your gut is telling you it’s too good to be true, listen.”

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 and reference file number 2021-26956.

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