As the Upper Palatinate Police Headquarters recently announced, a company from the Northern Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria reported the loss of hundreds of high-quality bicycles in April. Apparently, the company had been taken in by well-organised fraudsters, as the manufacturer had previously voluntarily handed over the cargo, which was worth millions, to the brazen fraudsters.
But how can you simply steal entire lorries full of bikes? Disguised as a supposed haulage company, the suspected professional criminals officially did business with the bicycle manufacturer and initially completed several transports without any problems. Suddenly, four lorry loads with over 800 bikes worth more than 1.6 million euros disappeared without a trace.
Then contact was lost and the haulage company no longer exists. Suspects are not yet known, the Weiden i. d. Oberpfalz criminal investigation department is investigating. According to police reports, the haulage company was obviously a phantom company that was set up solely for large-scale criminal activities.
There have been similar cases across Europe (including in Poland, for example) that have been linked to this phantom haulage company. It is not yet known how many stolen bicycles are attributable to the fraudsters. It could be thousands.
Nor do we currently know which bike manufacturer is the victim. Headquartered in the Upper Palatinate, at least two global players in the bike industry could be considered. The word so far is: "No comment!" And the police are also unwilling to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Sebastian Brust
Editor
