Police say stolen bikes are often quickly traded for illicit drugs. Vancouver Police show off 148 stolen bikes valued at more than $100,000 recovered from multiple storage units in 2019. The data comes from Project 529, an online registry and app that allows bike owners to register their bike, and then search through the database if their bike is stolen. And Brunt said thanks to the registry, bike thefts in Vancouver are down 40 per cent since 2015. In some other Canadian cities, he said, bike thefts have gone up 200 per cent since the start of the pandemic.

Source: CBC News August 19, 2021 12:00 UTC