The owner of a family-owned bike shop in Co Derry says he is devastated after being targeted by criminals who stole thousands of pounds worth of high end bicycles.
Over £116,000 in bikes and bike frames were stolen from Cicli Sport in Moneymore in the early hours of Sunday morning.
In total, 13 bikes and five bike frames were taken from the premises in the Market Street area between 2am and 3.30am.
Read more: Over £115,000 worth of bikes and frames stolen from Co Derry shop
Cicli Sport is one of Ireland's premier bicycle shops and has been operating for over 40 years as official suppliers of top brands such as Pinarello, Specialized, Giant, Assos, Mavic, Go Pro, Zipp and many more.
Cicli Sport is now run by Jonathan Smyth, following the death of his father John in October 2020.
It remains a family business, employing other family members and staff who have all been left heartbroken after the shop was targeted by a number of men in what is believed to be a pre-planned burglary.
CCTV footage shows the men, who were wearing masks and gloves, lifting bikes and taking them out of the shop, past the front of houses on Circular Road and onto Market Street in the village.
"We are devastated that we were targeted by criminals who obviously knew what they were looking for and who have stolen thousands of pounds worth of our high end bicycles," Jonathan told Belfast Live.
"They took only the most expensive and rare bikes in the shop, walking straight past bikes worth £3,000.
"One of the most expensive bikes was custom built and worth over £15,000 alone so they knew what they were after. They were really quite brazen and in and out of the shop for quite some time, carrying them two at a time up and down the full length of our street," he explained.
"They obviously knew where all the cameras and security systems were. In some of the footage you can see one of them holding his finger up and telling the other one to be quiet so no audio would be picked up of them talking."
Jonathan added: "All of the bikes have serial numbers, and most contain frames and parts that in the current environment are very difficult to get into stock and cannot be easily replaced.
"We have serial numbers of every bike stolen and have been sharing the details on our Facebook page to raise awareness in the hope that someone will come forward.
"The serial numbers have been registered as having been stolen so that if they appear in a workshop for repair in the future, they should flag as having been stolen.
"These guys have stolen not just from our business, but also from our families who are all devastated. Our business is a pillar of the Moneymore community and the cycling community too with customers travelling from all over Ireland to shop with us.
"Local people have really given us the strength to get through this by sharing the serial numbers and looking at their own CCTV footage so that these bikes can't be moved on. They have all really rallied around us and we're so grateful to them for helping us out."
Police have also appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
A PSNI spokesman said: “The stolen bikes and frames are of high value and were a variety of different models.
“They also have serial numbers attached, so can be easily tracked. We would therefore appeal to members of the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious.
“Our enquiries are continuing and it was reported two males entered the property shortly after 2am.
"One is described as wearing black tracksuit bottoms, a black hoodie, mask and hood."
He continued: “The other male is believed to be wearing grey trousers, a dark hoodie, orange mask and hood. Both of the men appear to be wearing gloves.
“They are observed carrying the stolen bikes across the front of the shop towards the Circular Road on foot and were last spotted just before 3.30am.
“Anyone who was in the area at the time, and may have witnessed any suspicious activity or has dash-cam footage, is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 348 of 07/03/22.”
Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
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