The owner of a controversial program that reunites stolen bikes with their owners has been ordered to stop doing business in New Westminster, B.C.
Gordon Blackwell, who has a criminal record for fraud in Ontario, was handed a cease and desist order by a New Westminster bylaw officer at his warehouse Tuesday, after the city learned he does not have a business permit to operate Bike Rescue.
His program claims to have returned over 250 stolen bikes, finding the stolen merchandise by scouring the internet for "too good to be true bike deals," and purchasing them back from thieves.
He tries to reunite the bike with its original owner but resells the bikes when he can't find them.
But Blackwell is vague about where he gets his product and several people have discovered him selling their stolen bikes from his warehouse.
Cyclist Bryan Powell found his stolen Rocky Mountain bike for sale at Blackwell's warehouse in New Westminster, where the cyclist says he tried to sell him his own bike back for $1,000. Powell called police and Blackwell gave up the bike.
Vancouver Police say they are actively investigating the Bike Rescue owner, as are the New Westminster Police.
Tuesday's shutdown is the second time Blackwell has been booted from a Metro Vancouver community. In 2008, the city of Coquitlam discovered Blackwell was operating his bike business out of a storage locker. RCMP later went in and seized dozens of stolen bikes.
But police have never charged Blackwell for possession of stolen property. Investigators say it is difficult to prove someone is knowingly buying stolen goods.
It's not clear if the latest move by New Westminster will put him out of business permanently.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington
