Bike thieves in China upload photos of themselves standing on police car
Emboldened by the recent theft of several motorcycles, thieves thought sharing incriminating photos of themselves would escape the attention of police
After successfully stealing several motorcycles and electric bikes in northwestern China, two men posed for pictures by standing on a police car then uploaded the pictures on their social media accounts, thinking that they would never be caught, according to a local newspaper.
But their luck didn’t last long as local police in Xian, capital of Shaanxi province, arrested them and five accomplices after spending a month investigating the case, the City Express reported.
All seven members of the bike theft group were born after 1990, officers said. They were unemployed and began steal motorcycles and electric bikes after several of them learnt how to pick locks.
They bought pliers, hacksaws and other tools before embarking on their criminal careers.
The group committed more than 30 thefts over an unspecified time. Ten motorcycles and electric bicycles with about 100,000 yuan (US$14,500) in total were recovered.
The stole the vehicles within residential communities, one of them confessed to police.
Police busted the ring early on a recent morning when three gang members were riding stolen motorcycles and electric bikes on a street when they encountered patrolling officers. They promptly abandoned the vehicles and ran away but were caught soon after.
