District police arrested two people on Friday and recovered 25 bicycles from them.
Those arrested have been identified as G. Suresh, 27, and M. Raja Babu, 28, and are from the village of Pedagondi, Pedabarada Panchayat of Chintapalle Mandal.
Police Deputy Superintendent VB Raj Kamal said the accused target had parked motorcycles in various locations. Even though the bike handles were locked, the defendant would forcibly break them and start the vehicle by plugging in the cables, the DSP said.
Of the 25 stolen bicycles, 22 were stolen in Visakhapatnam district in Paderu, Pedabayalu, G. Madugula, Chinthapalli, GK Veedhi, Koyyuru, Kasimkota, Golugonda and Rolugunta, apart from Rajamahendravaram, Tuni and Kothnanduru in East Godavari district.
“After the defendant stole the bicycles, he stored them in Pedagondi in order to sell them in Odisha at the right price,” said the DSP.
Under the direction of Police Superintendent B. Krishna Rao, the Visakhapatnam Rural Police had formed a special team to focus on the bicycle theft cases that were taking place in the district. The defendant’s arrest was the result of months of investigations, which included interviewing victims and conducting investigations at various locations in the two districts, he added.
The inspector of the Paderu Police Station, P. Pydipu Naidu, and the sub-inspector, M. Sreenivas, were present.