Spoke in the wheel for thief
A bicycle rented by a participant in the Ironman competition held in November in Mossel Bay, which was stolen shortly before the competition from the guesthouse in which he was staying, has been found.
A Mossel Bay local, who read an article about the bicycle theft in the Mossel Bay Advertiser on 21 November, saw the bicycle at a house in KwaNonqaba this week.
The man, who chose to remain anonymous, phoned the Advertiser immediately and sent in a picture of the bicycle inside the house.
The Advertiser sent the picture to Les Kuys, the owner of a small business in Cape Town that rented the bicycle to athlete Ibrahim Cbibili, who lives in Belgium.
Kuys immediately confirmed that it was indeed the stolen Giant Propel Advanced Pro disc road bike, worth R28 000.
The bicycle and other goods were stolen from the garage at The Bay Lodge on the Beach in the suburb of Bay View during loadshedding less than 16 hours before the Ironman race.
The Advertiser informed the investigating officer at the Da Gamaskop Police Station and police officers went to the address in KwaNonqaba, where they confiscated the suspected stolen bicycle.
"We are extremely relieved this bike has been found. The client (Ibrahim Cbibili) is very relieved, as are we," Kuys said.
Police will deliver the bicycle to Kuys next week, when they are in Cape Town. The resident, who alerted the Advertiser regarding the bicycle, will receive a reward from both the police and Kuys.
By the time of going to print, police were in the process of making an arrest.