On 11 March, Lena B.* rode her e-bike to a Leipzig citizens’ centre in the early evening. After securing the frame and rear wheel to a bike stand in front of the centre, she entered the building.

However, something unbelievable happened while she was gone: a thief managed to break open the lock and made off with the bike without being challenged.

Luckily, the bike was fitted with a concealed IT’S MY BIKE GPS tracker. After discovering the theft at around 6 p.m., the victim rang the IT’S MY BIKE Hunter Team for help using the IT’S MY BIKE app.

The team followed the thief’s movements using the GPS signals from the tracker. The thief headed south, initially to the Windorf district, about 5 kilometres from the crime scene.

Just a little later, he set off towards Kulkwitzer See, a lake south-west of the city, before turning around and heading back to Windorf at around 10 p.m. , where he came to a halt at the natural open-air swimming pool at around 1 a.m.

Around four hours later, he continued his ride, setting out for Kulkwitzer See once more, near to which he stopped again at 9 a.m.

The Bike Hunters picked up a perfect GPS signal from the location and rang the police. The officers arrived on the scene at around 11 a.m., where they made an unusual discovery. When they seized the stolen bicycle, they found it had been dismantled, wrapped in aluminium foil and placed in a box. Although the aluminium foil was intended to prevent the signal from transmitting, the GPS tracker had been able to track and locate the bike. The police took the bike to the station to gather forensic evidence.

*Name changed

Stock image: Adobe Stock