Police have charged three Winnipeg men and another man from Saskatchewan after a power sports dealership in Île-des-Chênes, Man., was targeted in a brazen theft over the weekend.
Derek Roth, co-owner of Adventure Power Products told Global News earlier this week he arrived at work on Sunday morning to find a six-foot chain-link fence surrounding the business had been caved in, and five motorcycles were stolen.
He said the thieves apparently drove a Ford F150 into the fence repeatedly without success and then turned their efforts toward the front entrance.
“It looks like it was a very specific crime,” Roth said Monday.
“The fence held up and did what it was supposed to do, so they eventually decided to drive the truck right through the gated area of the compound — drove right through the front entrance.”
Roth said the thieves — who were caught on surveillance video — also stole an enclosed trailer from the shop, which they used to load up the bikes.
On Friday RCMP announced arrests had been made in the case following a pair of raids at a home and warehouse in Winnipeg.
Police say some of the dirt bikes stolen from Adventure Power Products were recovered, as well as “numerous other items” police believe have been stolen from multiple locations around Southern Manitoba.
Three men from Winnipeg, aged 41, 43, and 51, as well as a 43-year-old man from Saskatchewan, have been charged.
All four have been released from custody with court appearances scheduled in Winnipeg Nov. 2.
St. Pierre Jolys RCMP along with the RCMP’s East District District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team continue to investigate.
The arrests come as police in Winnipeg say motorcycle thefts have been increasing in recent years.
In June, 20 motorcycles were reported stolen in the city, higher than the five-year average of 11, and up from 19 in 2019.
In May of 2020, a high of 22 motorcycles were stolen in Winnipeg, also up from the previous year and double the five-year average for that month.
–With files from Sam Thompson
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