Who hasn't been there? At some point, your beloved bike is simply no longer where you left it and locked it up. The theft report to the police is a formality so that the insurance company will pay for the replacement. Nobody expects to ever see their beloved bike again, the detection rate is minimal.

But this time it's different. A routine check puts investigators on the trail of a gang that has swindled hundreds of thousands of francs by selling stolen bikes, as blue news reports. The story shows how some bike thieves operate.

The decisive move was made by Bern police officers in August 2020: they stopped a 25-year-old man pedaling through the city on a stolen bike. He is German and is anonymized in the report as Florian K. He spends a day in custody and is released. But the police stay on him. The overall picture is too conspicuous. And they did indeed catch him several more times with stolen bicycles.

The suspicion soon grew stronger: K. was not a petty thief but part of a gang that systematically stole bicycles - right across the canton of Bern and as far as the Basel area. A good five years later, three men are sitting before the Bern Oberland Regional Court in Thun: Florian K. and two Swiss men of the same age, Tiago S. and Loris H. (names changed).

More than 300 thefts, bikes worth hundreds of thousands of francs

The indictment is a heavyweight: 139 pages, over 200 documented thefts, countless locks broken open. Florian K. alone is accused of 21 charges. According to the public prosecutor's office, the group stole bicycles and other stolen goods worth several hundred thousand francs over a period of months. In addition, there are a number of other offenses such as riding while unfit to drive, trespassing, theft of a motor vehicle, verbal abuse, obstructing an official act, pornography and more. His most spectacular action: without a ticket, on a stolen bike in 1st class on a train to Solothurn, he did strength and boxing exercises and finally beat up a passenger. The whole thing was probably under the influence of drugs.

An example of the core business: in October 2019, Florian K. and Loris H. broke the lock on a mountain bike worth around 6300 francs at Ostermundigen train station. A short time later, they sold it for 800 to 1000 francs - via Facebook Marketplace or WhatsApp.

In 117 cases, Florian K. is said to have made around 213,000 francs in this way. Together with accomplices, he is said to have committed a further 240 crimes with a value of almost 400,000 francs. The trio stole in a targeted manner: "Only good bicycles", as the main defendant said in court. Ultimately, the court considers the theft of bicycles with a total value of 445,000 francs by the three men to be proven.

In court, Florian K. appears talkative. He denies individual accusations - such as stealing a pink bike: "I don't do that." E-bikes were taboo: "Too complicated because of the charging cables." He probably means that it would have been too conspicuous if he, as a salesman, had not had a charger for his e-bike. At the same time, he confirms the gang-like approach. The proceeds were shared fairly and the sale was organized collectively. He was not a leader - even though the Facebook account was in his name. Investigators discovered hundreds of photos of bicycles on his cell phone, taken at train stations, in residential areas or in parking lots, later advertised on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and often resold within a short period of time at prices where the buyers ask no questions but are happy to have made a good deal.

The two Swiss co-defendants are completely different. Tiago S. barely speaks, calling the charges the "worst time" of his life. Loris H. talks about missed opportunities, drug problems and responsibility for his family. Both try to distance themselves from the acts of that time. The two co-defendants also have different real names.

Commercial or gang-related? That is the question here

From a legal perspective, the case is not just about the number of bicycles stolen, but also about the classification of the crimes. The decisive factor is whether the theft is considered commercial or gang-related - or both.

Commercial acts are committed in order to earn a regular income. Gangs are formed when several people join together to repeatedly commit criminal offenses. In practice, this can have far-reaching consequences: If a gang is recognized, the entire amount of the offence can be attributed to a single member. This significantly increases the penalty range - from a maximum of five to up to ten years' imprisonment.

Not just bike theft, but also robbery

When sentencing, the prosecutor made it clear that the main defendant was not primarily accused of bike theft, but of violent, attempted robbery. Only then were the numerous bike offences taken into account.

Accordingly, she requested an unconditional prison sentence of 78 months for Florian K., a fine of 50 daily rates of 30 francs each and a fine of 1,000 francs. He is also to be deported to Germany. The defendant stated that he had no objections to this - even though he has lived in Switzerland since the age of twelve.

In connection with an alleged pornography offense, the public prosecutor's office waived a lifelong ban on working with young people. The law allows such a waiver in particularly minor cases. Corresponding files had been discovered on Florian K.'s cell phone.

For Tiago S. and Loris H., the public prosecutor's office is requesting prison sentences of 30 months and fines of ten daily rates. Tiago S. will also receive a fine of 300 francs, while Loris H.'s previous offenses were weighted to increase his sentence.

The defence puts things into perspective, the court rules

The defendants' lawyers paint a different picture: one of men desperately on the wrong track who had committed crimes that could not be compared to burglaries in a bijouterie or the Louvre. In addition, the public prosecutor's office had committed procedural errors and the offenses could not be clearly assigned.

The verdict shows who the court believes more. Florian K. is sentenced to 63 months unconditionally and expulsion from the country. He also receives a fine, a fine and legal costs of over 50,000 francs. The two Swiss nationals receive 22 and 24 months unconditional sentences, minor fines and monetary penalties, but also legal costs of 23,000 and 13,400 francs respectively.

The story shows that stolen bikes can certainly turn up again. More importantly, the report can help the police to catch thieves if there is a pattern in an area. During the period in which the gang was active, it was responsible for around 5 percent of all reported bike thefts in the canton of Bern, as the court reporter from blue News told the Ride author. So: keep the proof of purchase with the frame number, ideally take a few photos and record any modifications to the bike. Even if it's only for the insurance company.