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E-bikes seized by police sold on at auction, BBC finds
BBC found 161 e-bikes were sold last year and 54 in 2024, raising concerns they could return to criminal use.
- A BBC investigation has revealed that UK police forces are selling seized e-bikes at public auction, despite concerns the vehicles could end up back in the hands of criminals.
- Forces sold 161 e-bikes last year, with Police Scotland auctioning 93 of them through commercial platforms like Raw2k to generate revenue.
- Illegal e-motorbikes have been linked to pedestrian deaths, including 86-year-old Gloria Stephenson struck at a zebra crossing in Sunderland last year. Criminals use online 'tuning kits' to modify legally compliant bikes to reach around 40mph.
- While some forces defend sales as putting 'money back into policing,' Durham Constabulary reviewed its policy and now states seized vehicles 'will now be crushed without exception.'
- Lancashire Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw urged forces to stop selling the bikes, calling them the 'transport of choice for drug gangs' and criticizing the 'confused message' regarding their legality.
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Leaning Left0Leaning Right0Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution100% Center
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources are Center
100% Center
C 100%
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