Gardaí set up sting to nab thief who stole ‘high value’ bike in Dublin

In an Instagram post, a garda spokesperson explained that a woman reported her bike as stolen at Ballymun Garda Station on Sunday.

She claimed that the “high value” vehicle had been taken from her workplace on Saturday and had found it in an advertisement online, where it was being sold for less than half price.

Gardaí then decided to contact the seller “unbeknownst to him”, agreeing to meet him at a location in Dublin 9 on Monday afternoon to buy the bike.

However, officers were at the scene in plain clothes and an unmarked car and nabbed the thief.

He was arrested under suspicion of possessing stolen goods and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and the bicycle was returned to its rightful owner.

Captioning a photo of the bike, a garda spokesperson said: “On Sunday, a woman called into us in Ballymun Garda Station to report that her bicycle had been stolen from her workplace the previous day.

“If you recognise the brand, you’ll know it’s of high value.

“The woman had a quick look online on the off-chance that the thief had advertised it for sale, and lo and behold there it was. The thief was hoping to flog it for less than half price.

“We set up a profile on the resale site and engaged with the advertiser unbeknownst to him. After some back and forth on the deal, we agreed to meet him at a location in Dublin 9 yesterday afternoon to buy the bike. Happy days. Ka-ching he must have thought.

“Oh we were there as we had agreed, alright. Just in plain clothes and an unmarked car.

“He was arrested under suspicion of possessing stolen goods and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

“The bicycle was returned to its rightful owner.

“A decent result for the garda that took the lead on this - her first week on the job. #ItsAjobWorthDoing”.