Imagine having a pair of brand new bikes, which set you back $3,000, stolen from your garage only to be told four months later you would have to pay $500 to get them back.
It's a bizarre situation that happened to one Montrealer.
Régis Gama's bikes were snatched in February. He contacted police to report them stolen but did not know the serial numbers.
Fast forward to the summer, an eagle eyed police officer called Gama to let him know his bikes had been found at a pawn shop in the east end of Montreal. The only catch, to get them back Gama would have to buy them back.
Police told Radio-Canada the thief took advantage of a loophole in current regulations concerning selling items to pawn shops.
In order to sell the bike to the shop the suspect had to obtain a verification of property form, proving the bike was not stolen, which he did. Because Gama did not know his serial numbers it was impossible for police to know at the time the bicycles did not belong to the suspect.
Because the pawn shop purchased the bikes legally, police said Gama would have to pay the asking price to get them back.
A city bylaw requires pawn shops to keep a registry of the items that come in, along with the contact information of the seller. That information is then sent to police.
Investigators used the information obtained from the pawn shop to track down the suspect, who later pleaded guilty to the crime.