Three men have been jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years for their part in the theft of an estimated £74,000 worth of bikes.

They admitted being involved in stealing hundreds of bikes from railway stations and other public places across London and Hertfordshire.

Many of the stolen bikes were found for sale on popular auction websites.

Tomasz Brzezinski, 26, of Beechwood Gardens, Ealing, was jailed for 36 months, reduced to 30 months for an early guilty plea.

Joshua Scott, 19, of Marshall Street, Brent, was imprisoned for 24 months, reduced to 18 months for an early guilty plea.

Zayn Khan, 19, of Park Avenue, Ealing, received a 24–month jail sentence, reduced to 18 months for an early guilty plea.

Detective Sergeant Paddy Kerr, of British Transport Police (BTP), said: “These men were involved in an elaborate criminal conspiracy to steal bikes from public bike racks and then quickly sell them on for cash – often using popular auction websites.

“They were organised criminals, targeting expensive bikes belonging to rail commuters. By disrupting large-scale criminal activity like this, we can continue to reduce the number of bikes stolen from railway stations in the London area.”

All three appeared for sentencing at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday, October 17, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to steal pedal cycles and conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

The bicycles had an estimated value of £74,000, and were stolen from the railway stations in: Willesden Junction; Richmond; Cricklewood; Twickenham; Paddington; Eden Park; Waterloo; Watford; Watford Junction; Harlesden; St Albans City and Hounslow.

The conviction follows a long-running investigation between British Transport Police (BTP) and Metropolitan Police into the thefts, which were between July 2012 and December 2013.

Since their arrest, a further 460 online adverts for stolen bikes were linked to the trio.

In one case, officers were able to recover a stolen bike after the 35-year-old victim found it for sale online. The man’s vintage bike – worth more than £1,000 – was taken from the racks at Twickenham station on May 6 2013, after he’d locked it there earlier the same day.

The following week, the man found an advert for his bike online. BTP officers contacted the seller, who claimed he had bought the bike from Joshua Scott, after seeing it advertised online. The bike was seized and returned to the owner.

In July 2013, properties occupied by Khan and Scott were searched by officers and bikes and tools were seized. On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, BTP officers arrested Brzezinski, Scott, Khan. They were interviewed and later charged on March 24, 2014.

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