Shocking video shows gang of thieves raid e-mobility showroom in £40,000 heist
This is the moment a group of balaclava-wearing thugs carried out a rapid raid at an e-mobility showroom, stealing thousands of pounds worth of gear in minutes.
The thefts took place at the Electric Life showroom in Castle Vale, Birmingham, at around 9:20pm on Wednesday (March 8).
The brazen thieves arrived in a large white van and two cars, breaking through the locked car park gates.
CCTV footage then shows the gang drive up to the building’s entrance in the snow-covered car park, pulling a large van, using what looks like a rope, to the door.
The five masked raiders then cut through the external shutter, with sparks flying as they used an angle grinder to break in.
They then forced the locks on the entrance doors, again using the angle grinder, despite the premises being ‘fully alarmed and covered by CCTV’.
Once inside they frantically grabbed bikes and scooters, with one raider slipping on the floor in his rush to grab whatever he could.
They stole all of the e-scooters on show and some of the e-bikes, worth £40,000, but no keys or chargers. The business said without those items the bikes and scooters would be ‘un-rideable’ and difficult to resell.
Among the items taken were bikes by leading brands like Orbea, Whyte, Pure, Falcon and electric scooter brands Jivr and Inokim.
Electric Life is owned by Tandem Group which says it has the ‘UK’s largest range of electric mobility products’ from electric bikes, electric scooters and electric motorbikes to electric golf trolleys and electric mobility scooters.
The showroom, on Tameside Drive, near junction 5 of the M6, only opened at the end of November and the firm believes the raid was carefully planned.
Matt Rudd, sales director at Tandem Group Cycles, said: ‘As a business, we are devastated to experience this break-in, the team has worked so hard following our recent opening of this showroom to develop a state-of-the-art retail space and an excellent level of customer services.
‘We are working closely with the police to support ongoing investigations and our excellent partner brands allowing us to support our customers and continue with trading as normal.’
The thieves were said to be ‘in and out in five minutes’. Police responded within nine minutes of the raid starting and just four minutes after the thieves escaped.
West Midlands Police confirmed the incident been reported and the force is investigating. Anyone who is offered an e-bike or e-scooter in suspicious circumstances should call 101 quoting crime number: 20/244614/23.
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