Stolen motorbike returned to German owner after it was found in Salford

The police recently returned a motorbike to its rightful German owner after it was stolen and found all the way in Salford.

The rider, a German national, had his motorbike stolen during his holiday in the UK five years ago.

His bike was stolen whilst in Edinburgh and he unfortunately had to return across the channel empty handed and out of pocket.

But that wasn’t the end of the story, up popped the stolen vehicle in September 2023, when police officers responded to a report of males making off from a scene and failing to stop on Bolton Road in Salford in the early afternoon of the 21^st.

Sustaining minor damage from a crash with a tree, the bike was recovered with no physical ID or check on the Police National Computer (PNC) as well as false details.

With no registration, extensive enquiries identified it as stolen and with the assistance of counterparts from specialised officers in Europe they were able to call on their expertise to identify the motorbike to be of German origin.

This led to GMP contacting Interpol, who in turn made official contact with German authorities and later were able to contact the victim who provided the necessary details, preventing it from being crushed.

Vehicle Examiner Dave Murphy from GMP’s Stolen Vehicle Examination Unit said: “This was pure determination and a team effort to find the rightful owner. With the UK out of the European Union now direct access to systems from forces in other countries has meant it has been harder for us to track and trace, but with other inventive ways of working and the help of our recovery agents, Mansfield, we were able to return the motorbike to the rider.

“Being a rider myself it is a tight-knit and supportive community which means we have taken great pleasure in giving this story a happy ending as we didn’t want it to be crushed and unclaimed despite being stolen and then used in crime.”

Anyone with information about car thefts or suspicious activity is taking place at premises can report it online or via LiveChat at www.gmp.police.uk. Alternatively, contact can be made to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.