Police arrest gang accused of stealing 100,000 euros in bicycles

Police in Munich have arrested four men suspected of stealing 22 high-end bicycles worth about 100,000 euros. BR reported that 19 of the bikes have been recovered.

Officers stopped the men in a car in Neuperlach on September 22. The search was targeted, and police found burglary tools in the vehicle. A subsequent search nearby uncovered several stolen bicycles. Investigators believe the suspects had also prepared a van to transport the haul.

The four men, three Syrian nationals and one German national, have been held in pre-trial detention. They are accused of aggravated commercial gang theft. Investigators believe they travelled from Hamburg to Munich specifically to steal valuable bicycles, including mountain bikes, road bikes and gravel bikes. Six recovered bicycles were returned to their owners at a press event.

Police suspect the stolen bicycles were to be taken to Russia and sold there. Investigators believe organised gangs divide up tasks to carry out such thefts.

In the first 10 months of 2026, bicycles worth about eight million euros were stolen in Munich city and county. The losses were about 7.75 million euros in 2025, compared with 3.7 million euros in 2016. Police say they solve about 25 percent of bicycle thefts.