Brazen thieves steal £90k worth of motorbikes in single raid
Brazen thieves have smashed their way into a Southampton motorcycle dealership, making off with £90,000 worth of Aprilia sports bikes.
The Southampton-based motorcycle dealership has been raided by thieves, resulting in an estimated £90,000 worth of Aprilia sports bikes being stolen.
The raid, which took place on Thursday, August 14, happened in the early hours of the morning and involved a group of four thieves who pushed external CCTV cameras to evade identification. After working on the exterior and interior door for a short time, they eventually crowbarred their way into the dealership and headed straight for Dearden Motorcycles’ Aprilia sports bike lineup.
“They went straight for the Aprilias, so they knew exactly what they were after”, said Dearden’s sales manager Julie Bentley to New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times (A&T). Once inside the dealership, the four thieves spray-painted over internal CCTV cameras, although a vague description of them could still be gained.
According to Julie Bentley, speaking to A&T again, three of the four robbers were quite large, while the other four were noticeably skinnier and wore no shoes. It’s thought that this was done to prevent him from leaving footprints inside the dealership—all four were wearing hoodies, masks and balaclavas.
After spending an estimated 10 minutes in the showroom, the four made off with bikes valued from between £12,500 and £23,000, with the total value of stolen bikes reaching nearly £90,000.
Following the raid, the four people made their escape, with a white long-wheel base van as well as a Ford Fiesta.
Following the break-in, the Dearden showroom has reopened, although several demos and test rides had to be cancelled. Customers visiting the showroom also had to be directed away from the area where the thieves had made entry to the building.
The Police are now asking for anyone who may have seen something, either on dashcam or in person, to come forward via 111 or Crimestoppers - which can be reached on 0800 555 111.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
