Danger! There are particularly many motorcycle thefts now in the Mettmann district of North Rhine-Westphalia!

The police warn of motorcycle thieves in the Mettmann area!

In the past few weeks, the police in the Mettmann district have registered an increasing number of thefts of motorcycles from underground garages. By the beginning of this week alone, 16 cases had become known to them in 2022 - including in the areas of Langenfeld, Hilden, Ratingen, Heiligenhaus and Erkrath. On February 15th, two more cases were added in Erkrath, so there are now a total of 18 cases with a total loss of well over 200,000 euros.

Different motorcycle brands are affected!

According to current information, mainly BMW, KTM, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha motorcycles have been stolen. This is a bit unusual, but the increased self-protection of Harley-Davidson owners is certainly at work here. In times with long waiting times for new vehicles, their own bikes are now better secured, especially in underground car parks, and sometimes even equipped with GPS.

In the past, many Harley-Davidson motorcycles were stolen, especially in underground parking lots. That doesn't mean that as a Harley-Davidson owner you shouldn't be particularly careful in the North Rhine-Westphalia area when such gangs of thieves are on the road, they will take what they can steal with the least amount of effort, ideally the beloved bike directly on the wall chains! The sooner they are caught, the better, in the end we are all motorcyclists and we have to stick together here too!

How the perpetrators acted!

In almost all cases, according to the current status of the police investigation, the perpetrators acted in the same way: they gained unauthorized access to the underground car parks - either through the roller doors or through entrances in the stairwells of the attached apartment buildings. There they stole the motorcycles and most likely loaded them onto a transporter, with which they then fled unrecognized and unnoticed.

The police advise!

• Please ensure that no unauthorized persons gain access to your underground car parks. Secure your roller shutters and also the entrances to the underground car park in the house.
• If possible, secure your motorcycles parked in an underground car park not only with a disc brake lock, but also with a chain to a firmly anchored object. Make it as difficult as possible for potential motorcycle thieves.
• If you have the opportunity: Equip your machine with a GPS tracker. If your machine is stolen, the location can be easily determined.

This is what the police do:

The police have launched extensive investigations into the motorcycle thefts that have become known and have also put the stolen machines on international search notice, as it cannot be ruled out that the motorcycles are taken “across the borders” where they are either resold directly or dismantled and then cut into individual parts be sold.

In addition, the police pay particular attention to underground car parks as part of their patrol - but we cannot be everywhere at the same time - which is why we depend on your help.

Therefore, heed the police’s request:

Keep your eyes open: If you see suspicious delivery or transport vehicles or people in your neighborhood or around underground car parks, don't be afraid to inform the police.

Please contact the Mettman police:
+49 2104 9820, or directly via the police emergency number 110

The article as a podcast!