Halle (Saale): GPS tracker led to bicycle thief
A cyclist from Halle made an unpleasant discovery on the night between 29 February and 1 March. Around 1 a.m., he received a message on his mobile app as he sat in a restaurant, informing him that his e-bike had been stolen. Luckily for him but not for the thief, his bike was fitted with a GPS tracker by the Darmstadt-based company IT’S MY BIKE. He used the solution to report the theft to the police immediately, who subsequently visited the scene of the crime and took down the details of the incident. Just a few hours later, the IT’S MY BIKE team joined in to help the victim with further action.
The concealed digital module finally located the e-bike in the district of Halle-Neustadt, eight kilometres away, on Sunday morning. The data also revealed that the bicycle was now situated inside a building, a large apartment block, circumstances which can pose a real challenge for police operations.
The police and owner set off for the identified location. The owner was able to track the position of his bike live on the app. Its map showed that the thief was moving the bike around the residential building. The police unit went into action once the e-bike had been located at a fixed point. When the thief realised that the police had tracked him down, he quickly threw the 7,500 euro e-bike out of the window on the fourth floor of his apartment block. Unfortunately, the bike frame broke as a result of the fall. Things could have been worse, but luckily the e-bike was insured and the owner received compensation for the damage. He is certain to have his new e-bike fitted with an IT’S MY BIKE tracker again.